The Goldman Case film review: a crime drama unlike any other

The Goldman Case review and star rating:★★★

A real life French crime saga is played out in this biographical drama which puts the audience in the juror’s chair. The Goldman Case recreates the 1975 appeal hearing of Jewish far-left activist Pierre Goldman (Arieh Worthalter).

He is serving a life sentence for the crime of four robberies, one of which resulted in the death of two women. Goldman accepts the robbery charges but strongly denies the murders, offering little evidence and few witnesses other than his own protestations (“I am innocent because I am innocent”).

Butting heads with his lawyer (Arthur Harari), the hearing becomes an examination of how we judge guilt, police corruption, and racism in society. The action mostly happens during the hearing, which by its nature leads to a very talky couple of hours.

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This would be death for most films, but writer-director Cédric Kahn gives the story the presence of a stage play, the characters seeming to leap from their chairs to challenge the man in the dock. Little is given to inform you as to whether Goldman is guilty or not, instead the characters pick apart the principles of a trial, becoming an anti-procedural that questions the validity of witnesses and character statements.

Any courtroom drama that can remain almost entirely in the courtroom and still be interesting is worthy of praise. The Goldman Case may feel too dense for those unfamiliar with the real life trial (do some reading before you go) but this a meaty philosophical debate for those who want their cinema to challenge them.

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