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Law on Film
Law on Film explores the rich connections between law and film. Law is critical to many films, even to those that are not obviously about the legal world. Film, meanwhile, tells us a lot about the law, especially how it is perceived and portrayed. The podcast is created and hosted by Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer, legal scholar, and film buff. Each episode, Jonathan and a guest expert will examine a film that is noteworthy from a legal perspective. What does the film get right about the law and what does it get wrong? Why is law important to understanding the film? And what does the film teach about law's relationship to the larger society and culture that surrounds it. Whether you're interested in law, film, or an entertaining discussion, there will be something here for you.
Law on Film
An Officer and a Spy (2019) (Guest: William Schabas) (episode 51)
This episode explores An Officer and a Spy (J’accuse in French), Roman Polanski’s 2019 film about the Dreyfus Affair in France. The Dreyfus Affair is one of most significant events in late 19th/early 20th century, an event whose implications reverberated for decades in France and around the world. The Dreyfus Affair centered around the military trial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus on charges of treason. Wrongly convicted based on secret evidence and false information, Dreyfus’s case would become a cause célèbres and synonymous with a miscarriage of justice. It also exposed and exacerbated tensions within French society while underscoring deep and pervasive levels of antisemitism. Based on Robert Harris's 2013 novel of the same name, An Officer and a Spy focuses on the role of George Picquart, the military officer who helps uncover the truth behind Dreyfus’s wrongful conviction, and Picquart’s complex relationship with Dreyfus himself. Hewing closely to historical fact, the film highlights critical issues around law, truth, and justice, at the heart of the Dreyfus affair and why it remains so relevant today.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
3:02 An overview of the Dreyfus case and key players
5:54. Georges Picquart
13:14. The struggle to overturn Dreyfus’s conviction
17:54 Tensions over the Dreyfus affair and a lack of accountability
20:48 The “evidence” in the Dreyfus case
25:38 How the Dreyfus affair divided French society
30:16 Other films about the Dreyfus affair
33:54 The controversy around Roman Polanski as director
39:21 Legacies of the Dreyfus affair
45:13 The role of Colonel Henry
Further reading:
Begley, Louis, Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters (2009)
Bredin, Jean‑Denis, The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus (1986)
Doherty, Thomas, “From Méliès to Polanski: The Dreyfus Affair on Film,” Cineaste (2020)
Harris, Robert, An Officer and a Spy (2013)
Read, Piers Paul, The Dreyfus Affair: The Scandal That Tore France in Two (2013)
Samuels, Maurice, Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair (2024)
Zola, Émile, The Dreyfus Affair: J’Accuse and Other Writings (1998)
Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember.
For more information about Jonathan, here's a link to his bio: https://law.shu.edu/profiles/hafetzjo.html
You can contact him at jonathanhafetz@gmail.com
You can follow him on X (Twitter) @jonathanhafetz
You can follow the podcast on X (Twitter) @LawOnFilm
You can follow the podcast on Instagram @lawonfilmpodcast