Lyo Louis-Jacques at the University of Chicago has posted this list of movies dealing with international legal issues to the International Law Librarians List (Int-Law).
Wonderful and helpful resources (both this list and the listserv).
Please send suggestions for updating the list to Professor Louis-Jacques at llou at uchicago.edu
Wonderful and helpful resources (both this list and the listserv).
Please send suggestions for updating the list to Professor Louis-Jacques at llou at uchicago.edu
Foreign, Comparative, and International Law and
Justice on Film and TV:
An A to Z List
(compiled by Lyonette
Louis-Jacques, August 2010
rev.)*
Drama
about a woman who assists her friend
to arrange an
illegal abortion in 1980's Romania.
10e chambre, instants d'audience
= The 10th Judicial Court: Judicial Hearings (France, 2004; Director: Raymond Depardon)
The proceedings of a Paris courtroom are the grist for this documentary. Drawn from over 200 appearances before the same female judge, the director chooses a dozen or so varied
misdemeanor and civil hearings to highlight the subtle details of human behavior. In the process
he draws attention to issues of guilt, innocence, policing and ethnicity in France.
12 jurors must decide the fate of a Chechen
teenager charged with murdering his stepfather.
*The
Advocate (UK/France, 1993; Director: Leslie Megahey; starring Colin Firth, Ian Holm, Donald Pleasence)
In medieval France, young lawyer Richard
Courtois leaves Paris for the simpler life in the country.
***
Set in the 15th century, this is the story of a young lawyer-advocate whose quest for the simple
life leads him to a position in a small rural village.
Instead of the peaceful life, however, he
finds more depravity and
intrigue than in the city.
L’Affaire Lafarge
= The Lafarge Case
(France, 1938)
The movie portrays
Marie Chapelle, who was accused
of having poisoned
her husband Charles
Lafarge in the 1850s. The grand-niece of Charles
Lafarge sued the film producer for defamation of the memory of her grand-uncle.
Andaz, one of Mehboob Khan’s great melodramas,
exposes the anxiety
unleashed by the prospect
of gender equality after Independence. A westernized young woman (Nargis)
encourages the love
of an acquaintance (Dilip Kumar)
even though
she is already engaged to another
man (Raj Kapoor). The film’s
casting, its thematic
deployment of law as a source of
restoring social order, and its
final scene—where husband and wife are separated
as the heroine
begins to serve her prison sentence—all deeply influenced Awāra. – Bollywood Law
Die Anwälte (Germany,
2009; documentary)(The Lawyers
– A German Story, a movie about Otto Schily, Hans-Christian Stroebele, and Horst Mahler)
Die Anwälte (Germany, ARD, 2008; TVseries; in 8 episodes; interestedlookatpracticeoflawin Germany)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1167324/
A Japanese
Class B war criminal sets out to take
full responsibility for the execution
of American Airmen…Lieutenant General Tasuku
Okada.
Awara (India,
Hindi, 1951; Director: Raj Kapoor; Top 3
Bollywood law movie; has long courtroom
scene)
Raju lives as a derelict as a result
of being estranged
from his bitter father, a district judge, who threw Raju's mother
out of the house years ago...
Bamako (Mali/USA/France,
2006)(mock trial against
the World Bank and the IMF by African
civil society)
Recreation of the landmark 1958 South Australian Court trial
in which young aboriginal Max Stuart was sentenced to hang, having been found guilty of the murder of
a nine year old white girl.
Bollywood Law: Commercial Hindi Films with Legal Themes (Michael
H. Hoffheimer, 98 Law Library Journal
61 (2006)(list Top 3 movies,
and Top 20 recommended Bollywood law films)
http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v98n01/2006-03.pdf
Les bonnes causes = Don’t Tempt
the Devil (France, 1963; Director: Christian-Jaque)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132892/
Paul Dupré meurt soudainement suite à une injection
faite par son infirmière, Gina Bianchi. Gina a été la maîtresse de Dupré et est accusée de l'avoir tué quand
on découvre un testament qui la nomme héritière
de tous ses biens. Catherine est par conte la femme de Dupré et
en même temps la maîtresse
de Maître Cassidi,
à qui elle avoue d'être
l'auteur du crime. Il commence ainsi un duel judiciaire, dans lequel ce qui compte ne sont pas les faits, mais leur interprétation et la
capacité des deux avocats.
Ce sera la justice
qui gagnera ou bine l'habileté dans la manipulation des évènements?
*Breaker Morant (Australia, 1980) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080310/ http://www.amazon.com/Breaker-Morant-Edward-
Three
Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing
prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior
officers.
*The
Castle (Australia, 1997; a comedy) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118826/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_(film)
The blue collar Kerrigan home is filled with love as well as pride in their
modest lifestyle, but their happiness
is threatened when developers attempt the compulsory acquisition of their house to expand
the neighboring Melbourne
Airport.
*China from the Inside (PBS, 2007; documentary; episode 4 focuses
on freedom & justice) http://www.pbs.org/kqed/chinainside/
“« Commis d'office
» est un roman paru en 2004, qui faisait le point sur la loi
française et la magistrature à l'époque
de Dominique Perben et
des lois Sarkozy
sur le racolage passif. L'avocate pénaliste Hannelore Cayre
y faisait une peinture au
vitriol de la
« justice
des pauvres et des proxos », du côté de l'avocat
en même temps que
du côté du mis en
examen.”
Confronting the Truth
(United States Institute of Peace, 2006; documentary on truth commissions)
Shows how countries
which have experienced massive human rights violations have created official, independent bodies known as truth commissions, and documents the work of these commissions in South Africa,
Peru, East Timor,
and Morocco.
Le Conseil Constitutionnel (France, 2010; videos of French
constitutional council/court public hearings)
http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/videos/toutes-les- videos.48281.html
The Constant
Gardener (UK/Germany, 2005; starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz)(English diplomat’s
wife murdered in Kenya)
A widower
is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's
murder, big business,
and corporate corruption.
***
In a remote
area of Northern
Kenya, activist Tessa Quayle is found brutally murdered. Tessa's companion, a doctor,
appears to have fled the scene, and all the evidence points to a crime of passion.
Members of the British High Commission in Nairobi assume
that Tessa's widower,
their mild-mannered and unambitious colleague Justin Quayle, will leave
the matter to them. Haunted
by remorse and jarred by rumors of his late wife's infidelities, Quayle surprises everyone
by embarking on a personal
odyssey that will take him across
three continents. Using his privileged access to diplomatic secrets, Justin
risks his own
life and will stop at nothing
to expose the truth - a conspiracy more far- reaching
and deadly than Quayle could ever have
imagined.
French village doctor becomes target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing
him of affairs and practicing abortion.
Courthouse on the Horseback
《马背 上的法庭》(China, 2006; Director: Liu Jie; Ma Bei Shang)
The film follows three
characters on a tour of the remote Yunman
province of China where they travel
with a horse to deal with legal disputes
in mountain villages.
Government policy is forcing
the retirement of "Auntie" Yang (Yang Yaning) and she will have to separate after years of professional partnership from Feng (Li Baotian).
They are accompanied by her replacement, recent law school graduate
Ah-Luo (Lu Yulai).
Un crime au Paradis
= A Crime in Paradise (France, 2001; Director:
Jean Becker) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245530/
In the 1980 French countryside, farmer Jojo and his ill-tempered wife Lulu hate each other, though their respective interests speak against divorce.
The only thing that keeps the oppressed Jojo
from murder is the threat of
the guillotine.
Crude
(USA, 2009)(lawsuit
by Ecuadorans against Chevron for oil spills
in the Amazon) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1326204/
*Cry Freedom
(UK, 1987; Director: Richard Attenborough; starring Denzel Washington and Kevin Kline
South African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country
after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend the black activist Steve
Biko.
*A
Cry in the Dark (Australia/USA, 1988; Director: Fred Schepisi; starring Meryl
Streep & Sam Neill)
The
story of a mother whose child was killed
in
an animal attack, only to
have herself accused of the infant's
murder.
The theme revolves
around the character Damini who represents truth and innocence. After her marriage
in renowned wealthy
family, Damini happens
to see a cruel act done by her brother-in-law. She wants the pray
to get justice, but the family
including her husband opposes her, which leads her to quit the home. She is flanked
by a drunkard, an
ex-advocate, who helps her in all respect
to reach to her aim therefore
justice.
Délits flagrants (France, 1994; Director:
Raymond Depardon; documentary) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109697/
This documentary is a collection of footage of 14 suspects being 'interviewed' by the deputy public prosecutors.
Divorce - Italian
Style = Divorzio
all’italiana (Italy,
1961; starring Marcello
Mastroianni) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055913/
A
married Sicilian baron falls in love with his cousin
and vows to wed her, but with divorce illegal he
must concoct a crime of passion
to do away with his wife.
From its opening
image of a courthouse, director Tara Harish’s
Do Ustad
signals that it is modeled on Awāra. Like its
model, the narrative emerges as flashback from a criminal trial. Jagannath (Sheik Mukhtar), defended by his younger
brother (Raj Kapoor), confesses to killing
but insists social conditions forced him to the deed: “I
wasn’t born a murderer.” – Bollywood
Law
Le dossier
noir = Black Dossier/The Black File (France/Italy, 1955; Director:
André Cayatte) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048011/
About the difficulties of being a sentencing judge – André Bazin http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/64/64bazinfrenchcinema.html
En cas de malheur = Love Is My Profession
(France/Italy, 1958; Director: Claude Autant-Lara; starring Brigitte
Bardot and Jean
Gabin)
Married French lawyer Andre defends successfully the case of Yvette,
who committed a robbery. He falls
in love with her, but she isn't true to him.
En
plein coeur = In All Innocence
(France, 1998; Director:
Pierre Jolivet) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150464/
Cécile and Samira
can't pay their expensive Paris rent. Walking
down the street the two girls see an art gallery
reception and finesse
their way in. In attendance are Michel Farnèse,
a very well-to-do corporate lawyer, and his wife Viviane,
an artist… Cécile needs to find a lawyer…Michel agrees to take the case, since Cécile
comes from the same poor neighbourhood he worked his
way out of.
'The face of
AIDS' shines a light on
the stigma and discrimination suffered by
women living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi
... These conditions persist
despite Malawi's
commitments under international law to protect
people living with HIV/AIDS from discrimination.
Four Days in September
= O Que É Isso, Companheiro? (Brazil/USA, 1997; starring Alan Arkin)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119815/
Fernando, a journalist, and his friend César join
terrorist group MR8 in
order to fight Brazilian dictatorial regime during the late sixties. Cesare, however,
is wounded and captured during a bank hold up. Fernando then decides to
kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil
and ask for the
release of fifteen political prisoners in exchange for his life.
Franz
Fuchs – Ein Patriot
(Austria, 2007; TV semidocumentary about a “xenophobic bomb planter” in the 1990s)
The French Criminal
Trial (Cornell University Law School; video segments under each actor) http://legal1.cit.cornell.edu/court_trials/criminal/index.htm
*Gandhi (UK/India, 1982; Director: Richard Attenborough; starring Ben Kingsley, etc.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083987/
Biography of Mahatma Gandhi, the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British through his philosophy of non-violent protest.
A police inspector, suspecting an
attorney of two child
sex murders, has him
held for a questioning session that goes on for hours.
The number
of adoptions from Guatemala to the US has risen dramatically in recent years, as has the
controversy. What is seen as an act of love by adoptive parents is viewed with suspicion
inside Guatemala, and the film examines
the ramifications that money, private
lawyers, media coverage
and women's rights have on the adoption process…intercountry adoption.
Hail, the Judge! = Jiu pin zhi ma guan: Bai mian Bao Qing Tian
(Hong Kong/China, Cantonese, 1994; starring Stephen Chow)(comedy)
Pao Lung-Sing, a descendant of the famous
Judge Pao Ching Tient, is a 9th degree corrupt judge…
Human Rights in China:
The Search for Common Ground (Sacred Mountain Productions, 2004; documentary)
Ich klage an = I accuse
(Germany, 1941)(jury room debate on euthanasia)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033750/
Discusses the evolution of the International Criminal
Court (ICC), the world's first, permanent, international judicial body capable of prosecuting individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity when national courts are unable or unwilling to do so. The film
travels to
Kosovo, northern Uganda, Iraq, Rwanda and Darfur, focusing on offenses that have or could
have fallen under the
ICC's jurisdiction. The film also discusses
the United States'
current opposition to the ICC.
*In
the Name of the Father
(Ireland/UK, 1993; Director: Jim Sheridan;
starring Daniel
Day- Lewis and Emma Thompson)
Man's
coerced confession to an IRA
bombing he didn't do imprisons his father as well; a
British lawyer helps fight for their freedom.
Focuses on
the Hutu and Tutsi as they struggle
through Rwanda's unique reconciliation process: Gacaca, a network
of grassroots community
courts.
Tells of the hazardous journey of two Afghan boys as they travel from Pakistan through Iran, Turkey,
Italy, France and the UK in search of refuge in London, revealing the desperate measures people take to escape persecution and life-threatening conditions.
Les inconnus dans la maison =
Strangers in the House (France, 1942; Director: Henri
Decoin) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034893/
“A former lawyer,[Hector Loursat], called it quits when his wife left him; and now, he lives with his daughter whom he does not
seem to love very much. Then he discovers a dead body
in his house. The girl and her pack of youngsters are involved.
But he acts as like he
doesn't care.
He agrees to defend the suspect, his daughter's boyfriend.”
L’Ivresse du pouvoir
= Comedy of
Power (France/Germany, 2006; Director: Claude Chabrol; starring
Isabelle Huppert)
A magistrate investigates a corporate
executive.
A man sentenced death for
stealing two cars looks to avoid execution in
China.
***
“*A+ great movie and a super look into several
grave issues in China's
criminal justice system;
corruption, death
penalty and court control. Although the story
is set
in 1997 (based on a real case), the movie
concerns questions that are just as pertinent today.”
Krister
and his fiancée Brita return to Stockholm
after a stay in Italy. Shortly upon their return Krister
learns that all his assets left to him by his father has disappeared.
Together with
Brita he tries to obtain justice in a aristocratic and corrupt
legal system.
*Judgment at Nuremberg = Urteil
von Nürnberg (USA, 1961; Director:
Stanley Kramer;
stars Maximilian
Schell, Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Werner Klemperer, and William Shatner) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055031/
In 1948, an American
court in occupied
Germany tries
four Nazi judges
for war crimes.
Le Juge = The Judge (France, 1984; Director: Philippe Lefebvre) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087515/
Le juge et l’assassin = The Judge and the Assassin (France, 1976; Director: Bertrand Tavernier) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073219/
France, 1893. Joseph Bouvier, a former Sergeant
in the French military, shoots his beloved and attempts to kill himself.
Having survived with two bullets in his brain, he is released from the Dole
medical facility, a place of
mental and physical
filthiness.
Then begins a five-year period of wandering
on the roads of the South East of France, during which Bouvier rapes and eventually kills two dozen defenseless shepherds and farm servants
of both sexes.
Judge Rousseau thinks this case would help his career as a right
wing politician and therefore issues warrants of
arrests to find any hobo fitting the description. But if Bouvier was declared insane, the Judge's plan may become
a trap...
Le juge Fayard dit le Shériff = Judge Fayard Called the Sheriff
(France, 1977; Director: Yves Boisset)
Justice est faite = Justice Is Done (France, 1950; Director:
André Cayatte) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042625/
Know as "Justice
Is Done" in 1953 when it was first
shown in the USA, it opens with a short briefing in English
on the French jury system
and then reverts
to French with English subtitles. The Marshal summons
the jury and an insight
is given into the background of the seven jurors who are to decide on the guilt of the accused, a sick man's mistress
on trail for his
mercy killing. The trial
appears to be not presented
to prove her innocence
or guilt, but rather to
let the court (film) philosophize on the moral acceptability of euthanasia.
Justice, My Foot! = Sam gei goon (Hong Kong/China, Cantonese, 1992; starring
Stephen Chow)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105385/
Justiz (Switzerland/Germany, 1993;
writer: Friedrich Dürrenmatt) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107296/
Senator Isaak Kohler shoots and kills Professor Winter in a crowded restaurant, while Winter
is dining with the struggling idealistic young lawyer...
A murder
mystery, told with the
help of five characters - or six if
you count the dead man.
Jacob
Katadreuffe lives mute with his mother, has no
contact with his father who only works against
him and wants to become
a lawyer, at all costs.
Khuda Kay Live (Pakistan, 2007)(Muslim Pakistanis after 9/11) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068956/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
Lawyer, Lawyer
= Suen sei cho (Hong Kong/China, Cantonese, 1997;
starring Stephen Chow of “Kung Fu Hustle”
fame)
http://www.amazon.com/Lemon-Tree-Etz-Limon- Region/dp/B002BZTOEU/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1281028055&sr=1-2
The story of a Palestinian widow who
must defend her lemon tree field when a new Israeli Defense Minister moves next to her and threatens to have her lemon grove torn down.
*Let Him Have It (UK/France, 1991) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102288/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
The shocking
story of an unbelievable miscarriage of justice…In 1950s England,
slow-
witted Derek Bentley falls in with a group of petty criminals led by Chris Craig, a teenager with a fondness
for American gangster films.
Liebling-Kreuzberg (Germany, 1986; comedy TV series with Manfred Krug playing
Robert Liebling, a
lawyer in Kreuzberg; called “Schulfernsehen”
by law school students) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090472/
In 1984 East Berlin,
an agent of the secret police [public prosecutor], conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself
becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
*“M” (Germany, 1931; Director: Fritz Lang; starring Peter Lorre)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022100/
When the police in a German city are unable
to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in
the manhunt.
*A
Man for All Seasons
(UK, 1966) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060665/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
The story of Thomas More, who
stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman
Catholic Church to obtain a
divorce and remarriage.
***
Chancellor of England,
Sir Thomas More, is placed
in a difficult position
when Henry VIII breaks with the Catholic Church over its refusal to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn.
Henry demands More's endorsement of this act. Torn between
his conscience and duty to the crown, Sir Thomas
chooses to say nothing.
Maria Full of Grace (Colombia/US/Ecuador, 2004; Director: Joshua Marston)(Colombia)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390221/
Maria,
a poor Colombian teenager,
is desperate to leave
a soul-crushing job. She accepts an
offer to transport
packets of heroin -- which
she swallows - - to the United States. The ruthless world
of drug trafficking proves to be more
than for which she bargained.
A Matter of
Life and Death (UK, 1946; starring David Niven;
also called Stairway
to Heaven)(fantasy legal system)
A British wartime aviator who
cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court.
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to
smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide
to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release:
the appeals made by his lawyer,
his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
Appalled at the manner lawyers treat less affluent people,
Vikram Saigal decides
to do something
for the poor...
*The
Motorcycle Diaries (Argentina/USA/Chile/Peru/Brazil/UK/Germany/France, 2004; starring Gael García
Bernal):
Deals
with Che Guevara's trip through Latin America. Encounters issues of indigenous and human rights.
*Music Box (USA, 1989; Director:
Costas-Gavras; starring Jessica
Lange)(Hungarian immigrant in U.S. accused of war crimes
is defended by lawyer-daughter) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100211/
*The Name of the Rose = Der Name der Rose (France/Italy/Germany, 1986; Director: Jean-
Jacques Annaud: starring
Sean Connery & Christian Slater) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091605/
1327:
after a mysterious death in a Benedictine Abbey, the monks are convinced
that the apocalypse is coming. With the Abbey
to play host to a council
on the Franciscan's Order's belief that the
Church should rid itself
of wealth, William
of Baskerville, a respected
Franciscan monk, is
asked to assist in determining the cause
of the untimely
death. Alas, more deaths occur as the investigation draws closer
to uncovering the secret the Abbey wants hidden,
and there is finally no
stopping the Holy
Inquisition
from taking
an active hand in the process. William
and his young novice
must race against time to prove the
innocence of the unjustly accused and
avoid the wrath of Holy Inquisitor Bernardo Gui.
*Nuremberg (Canada/USA, 2000; TV mini-series starring Alec Baldwin)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208629/
The dramatized account of the war crime trials following
the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Alicia Marnet de Ibáñez
is a high school history professor and a well-to-do housewife in Buenos
Aires, circa 1983, after the fall of the "junta militar" that had taken over the government since 1976. She has a husband,
Roberto, who is a successful lawyer and a five-year-old adopted daughter.
***
Alicia
is blissfully ignorant
about what happened in the military
coup until one of her history students
asks her if
she only believes
what the history books say. She
embarks on a mission to find if her
daughter is the daughter
of one of the women who disappeared during the
coup. When her husband
finds out, he does everything in his power to prevent her from finding
the truth, but she's determined
and nothing he does is going to stop her.
*Paper
Dolls = Bubot Niyar (USA/Israel/Switzerland, 2006; Director: Tomer Heymann; documentary) (Philippines, Israel immigration)
Residents of a part of London
declare independence,
when they discover
an old treaty [that proves it is part of the medieval kingdom of Burgundy]. This leads to the need for a 'Passport to Pimlico'.
The
Passion of Joan of Arc = La passion de Jeanne
d'Arc (France, 1928; Director:
Carl Theodor Dreyer; starring Maria Falconetti)(courtroom drama)
A chronicle
of the trial of Jeanne d'Arc
on charges of heresy,
and the efforts
of her ecclesiastical jurists to force Jeanne
to recant her claims of holy visions.
*Paths of Glory (USA, 1957; Director: Stanley Kubrick; starring Adolphe Menjou and Kirk Douglas)(court-martial before a military
tribunal in France) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/
The futility and
irony of the war
in the trenches in WWI is
shown as a unit commander
in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and a glory-seeking general
after part of his force falls back under fire in an
impossible attack.
*The People’s
Court (PBS “Wide Angle”, 2007)(law of China) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/the-peoples-court/introduction/162
This powerful
film documents the courageous struggle of a religious
female's group called Women of the Wall movement
for equality next to the wailing wall, perhaps the holiest place on earth for Jews.
Le président Haudecœur
(France, 1940; Director:
Jean Dréville; comedy) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0198935/
A
public prosecutor wants his son to marry an ugly girl(who
has a squint) because
her mom is very rich.But it's too late for the
boy has already
fallen in love with another
girl who is pregnant
by him.Angry dad is to stop his
shameless son's allowance.
Historical (XIX. century) court process: Jewish community accused of ritual
murdering Esther Solymosi.
If you were kidnapped by the government, would you walk the 1500 miles back home?... In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained
as domestic staff and set off on a trek across the Outback.
*Rashomon (Japan, 1950; Director:
Akira Kurosawa; starring
Toshiro Mifune) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042876/
Set in the Middle Ages, the nature
of truth and subjective reality are probed in a series
of flashbacks from four
viewpoints to present the case history of a man's murder
and the rape
of his wife by a bandit.
The
Reader (USA/Germany, 2008; starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976051/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student
Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover
as she defends
herself in a war-crime
trial.
A
Reasonable Man tells the
story of a city lawyer who
comes across the case
of a herdboy from remote, rural
Zululand, who has killed a
one year old baby in the
mistaken belief that he was killing an evil spirit, known throughout Southern Africa as the "Tikoloshe". Dark Secrets which lie buried
deep within the
lawyer connect him to the boy. He takes the
case and enters a world of African witchcraft and mysticism to discover
the truth about the killing - and himself.
“*B+ased on a true story of a young black
South African man who stands
trial for the murder of
an infant, whom he
mistook for an evil spirit. The lawyer
who defends him is plagued
by his own demons. The
film was made by, and stars, Gavin Hood (of Tsotsi fame).”
The
Reckoning: The Battle
for the International Criminal Court
(USA, 2009) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212439/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
*Red Corner (USA, English & Mandarin,
1997; starring Richard
Gere & Bai Ling)(American lawyer in
China)
Le retour de Martin Guerre
= The Return of Martin Guerre (France, 1982; starring Gérard Depardieu)(“false
impersonation in medieval
times in the framework of a court session”) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084589/
The subject
of an American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) program called “Rome: The Power of Film to
Teach Foundations of
Roman and Civil Law”. Betsy Chessler reported on the program
in the Sept/Oct
2007 issue of the AALL Spectrum: Making Rome
Come to Life. The program
included a clip on the murder
trial of Titus Pullo.
***
A
down-to-earth account
of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
*Rumpole of the Bailey (UK, 1978-1992; TV series)(criminal law barrister) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078680/
Sacco e Vanzetti
(Italy/France, 1971; Director: Giuliano Montaldo; starring Gian Maria Volonté)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067698/
The story of two anarchists who were charged and unfairly tried for murder when it was really for their political
convictions.
The
Secret in Their Eyes = El secreto de sus ojos (Argentina/Spain, 2009) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305806/
A
retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past
unresolved homicide
cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades
later.
Seoul Train (USA, 2004)(North Korean refugees living underground in China) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402492/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
The gripping
documentary exposé
into the life and death
of North Koreans
as they try to escape
their homeland and China.
Set in
Kumba in South West
Cameroon Sisters in Law follows
Adultery, Rape and
Abuse cases led by a Female
Judge.
*Sore de mo boku wa yattenai = I Just
Didn't Do It (Japan,
2006)(sexual harassment in Japan) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0794350/
(Soredemo boku wa yattenai)
A young
man is falsely accused of molesting
a high-school girl on a train. He
is arrested and charged, and
goes through endless
court sessions, all the while insisting that he is innocent.
State of Fear (USA, 2005)(Peruvian Truth and
Reconciliation Commission) http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
The Peruvian
Truth and Reconciliation
Commission's official
report chronicles the atrocities of both sides during the twenty year war between Abimael Guzman's revolutionary "Shining path" Indian guerrilla movement and the establishment governments. The Commission presents an alternate
lens through which citizens
of Peru can evaluate
the inequalities their
Indian people sought
to address and the inevitable ravages
modern terrorism brings to everyone.
The
Stoning of Soraya M. (USA, 2008)(Iran) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1277737/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
When a journalist is stranded in
her remote village, Zahra takes a bold chance
to reveal what the
villagers will
stop at nothing
to keep hidden. Thus begins the remarkable story of what happened to Soraya,
a kind-spirited woman whose bad marriage
leads her cruel, divorce-seeking husband to trump up false charges
of infidelity, which carry an unimaginable penalty.
***
A drama set in 1986 Iran and centered
on a man, Sahebjam, whose car breaks down in a remote village
and enters into a conversation with
Zahra, who relays to him the story about her niece, Soraya, whose arranged marriage to an abusive tyrant had a tragic ending.
Storm
(Germany/Denmark/Netherlands, 2009; Director: Hans-Christian Schmid; the workings of the International Criminal Tribunal
for Yugoslavia/ICTY) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0768239/ http://www.filmmovement.com/filmcatalog/index.asp?MerchandiseID=207
*The Story of Qiu Ju =
Qiuju da guan si
(China/Hong Kong, 1992;
Director: Zhang Yimou; starring Gong Li)
In a
small Chinese village a farmer (Qing Lai)
and his chief quarrel over
land. When Qing Lai is
injured by the chief, who kicks him
in the groin, Qing's wife Qiu Ju begins a
quixotic odyssey that takes her from
her small village to the provincial capital. She is relentless in her one-woman crusade to wreak
a simple justice
from the proud Chief ... she wants him to apologize.
The Story of Women = Une affaire des femmes
(France, 1988; Director: Claude Chabrol; starring
Isabelle Huppert)
Based
upon the true story
of Marie-Louise Giraud, a French
woman put to death for performing unlawful abortions.
Tai Shi Village follows the
famous events when
villagers of Tai Shi, in suburban
Guangzhou, tried to remove the appointed
local officials. The villagers suspected that their land was illegally taken
away by the local authorities. Shot under dangerous conditions, the film reflects
vividly the
growing number
of serious conflicts
in rural China.
The
Tank Man (PBS
“Frontline”, 2006; documentary on unarmed young man who stood his ground before tanks on the Avenue of
Eternal Peace, June 5, 1989, China) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)(investigation of torture and killing of Afghani
taxi driver) http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
Ryoko Itakura
is a government tax agent who has just
landed a big promotion. Her first
assignment is to
catch wheeler-dealer Hideki
Gondo…
Frédéric Maillard is a procurer: the French court system's equivalent of an assistant district attorney… Frédéric convinced a jury to convict Valorin purely by
means of his own eloquence [no evidence]. Valorin
has received the death sentence. The victory party is so jubilant that none of the celebrants is particularly disturbed when news
arrives
that Valorin has escaped.
Guess who's coming to dinner.
Valorin arrives chez Maillard, and proceeds to hold everyone
prisoner. Now, they will listen to him ... or else.
*Traffic (USA/Germany, 2000; Director:
Steven Soderbergh; writer: Simon Moore, miniseries, Traffik; starring
Michael Douglas
and Benicio Del Toro)(Mexico-U.S.) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/
A conservative judge is appointed
by the President
to spearhead America's
escalating war against drugs, only to
discover that his teenage
daughter is an addict.
*The
Trial (France/Germany/Italy, 1962; Director: Orson Welles; starring Anthony Perkins and Jeanne Moreau)
An unassuming office worker
is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware
of his charges.
A
reconstruction of the trial
of Joan of Arc (based
entirely on the transcripts of the real- life trial)...
The
Unwritten Law = Fat ngoi ching (Hong Kong/China, Cantonese, 1985; starring
Andy Lau) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121259/
Andy Lau plays a brand new attorney, just back from
England, who defends
a prostitute accused of killing a high society playboy.
http://www.amazon.com/Veer-Zaara-Shahrukh-
Khan/dp/B0007V6MJA/ref=sr_1_25?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1281028621&sr=1-25
Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh is a rescue
pilot with the Indian Air Force, who risks his own life to save the lives of others.
One day, on
duty, he comes across a stranded
Zaara... a girl from Pakistan.
Zaara, a carefree, sprightly
girl has come to
India to fulfill
her surrogate mother's
dying wish. She meets with a bus accident
leaving her stranded
in a foreign land. Veer saves her life...
and his life is never the same again...
Twenty-two years later, Saamiya Siddiqui, a Pakistani
lawyer on her first case, finds herself face-to-
face with an ageing Veer Pratap
Singh. He has languished in a Pakistan jail cell for 22 years and has not spoken to anyone all these years - and no one knows why. Her mission is to discover the truth about
Veer and see to it that justice
is served. And thus starts
her journey to unveil
the truth... the story of
Veer and his life...
Why has Veer been silent for 22 years?
Why is he in a jail in
Pakistan? Where is Zaara? What happened to her? God has written the destinies of Veer and Zaara,
such that they can never be joined together. Saamiya has come to change that... to join
Veer and Zaara together... forever...
Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain--a conflict that leads to
tragedy for her
family.
La Vérité = Die Wahrheit
= The Truth (France/Italy, 1960; Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot; starring Brigitte Bardot)
Dominique
Marceau is on
trial for the
murder of Gilbert
Tellier. The
counsels duel relentlessly, elaborating explanations for why the pretty…
Volver (Spain, 2006;
Director: Pedro Almodóvar; starring
Penélope Cruz) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441909/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441909/plotsummary
“Involves the cover-up of what probably would be a justifiable homicide. Young girl murders her stepfather
when he is drunk
and attempted to rape her.”
Widow of Saint- Pierre = La veuve de Saint-Pierre (France/Canada, 2000; starring
Juliette Binoche
and Daniel Auteuil)
In 1849, in the Archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the drunken Ariel Neel Auguste and his partner Louis Ollivier kill
for a futile motive (to see if he is
fat or just big) the fishing boat
captain Coupard. Nell, who
stabbed the victim,
is sentenced to die with his head severed in the guillotine while Louis is sentenced
to hard labor. During
the transportation to the prison
under the custody
of Captain Jean, there is an accident and Louis dies. While
spending his days in the cell waiting for the guillotine and
the
executioner, Neel is invited by the captain's wife Mrs. Pauline to help her in her
garden and becomes
her protégé. Later he has a process
of rehabilitation helping the locals in minor works
and becomes very popular
in the island…
The
Winslow Boy (UK, 1948; Director:
Anthony Asquith;
starring Robert Donat) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040970/ http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/dvds.php
In
Edwardian England,
a thirteen year-old cadet, Ronnie Winslow, is expelled
from the naval academy at Osborne
for stealing a seven shilling postal
order. His father and sister become obsessed
with proving his innocence
at any cost to themselves, and turn the case into a national
cause celebre.
Early 20th century England: while toasting his daughter
Catherine's engagement, Arthur Winslow
learns the royal naval academy expelled his 14-year-old son, Ronnie, for stealing five shillings. Father asks son
if
it is true; when the lad denies it, Arthur
risks fortune, health,
domestic peace, and Catherine's prospects to pursue justice. After defeat
in the military court of appeals,
Arthur and Catherine go to Sir
Robert Morton, a brilliant, cool barrister and M.P., who examines Ronnie
and suggests that they take the matter before
Parliament to seek permission
to sue the Crown…
*Witness for the Prosecution (USA, 1957; Director:
Billy Wilder; starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich!, Charles Laughton, and Elsa Lanchester)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051201/
Agatha
Christie tale of a man on trial
for murder: a trial featuring surprise after surprise.
Z (France/Algeria, 1969; Director:
Costa-Gavras; stars Yves Montand,
Irene Papas, and Jean-
Louis Trintignant)(Greece)
Following the murder
of a prominent leftist, an investigator tries to uncover
the truth while government officials attempt to cover up their roles.
Der zerbrochene Krug (Germany,
1937)(about a village
judge and the case of a broken
jug) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029817/
Resources
Bollywood Law: Commercial Hindi Films with Legal Themes (Michael
H. Hoffheimer, 98 Law Library Journal
61 (2006)(list Top 3 movies,
and Top 20 recommended Bollywood law films)
http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v98n01/2006-03.pdf
DVD Movies at D’Angelo Law Library
International Law and Films (Institute for International Law and Justice, New York University School of Law, 2007-2008)
International Law on Film (Anthony Chase, 2000)
http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/lsf/chase24.htm
La
justice au cinéma (Jean Tulard, April 3,
2006) http://www.canalacademie.com/ida968-La-justice-au-cinema.html (audio file, 57 mins.)
La représentation de la justice au cinema (Institut du droit de la culture,
June 23, 2003) http://www.institut-culture.org/index.php/fr/ressources/dossiers-juridiques/260-la-
representation-de-la-justice-au-cinema
*This list was compiled
from suggestions from subscribers to the Int-Law < http://listserver.ciesin.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=Int-Law> email list for exchange
of foreign, comparative and international legal
information, and Twitter
colleagues. The plot summaries
are mainly from IMDB, Berkeley Law library,
and individual colleagues. Asterisked
(*) titles are in the D’Angelo Law Library DVD
Collection.
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