In “The Goldman Trial,” presented this Wednesday at the opening of Cinemania, Cédric Kahn brings to life the highlights of the second trial of Pierre Goldman, a secular Jew and radical left-wing activist accused of robbing two pharmacists to have murdered.
Published at 1:05 am. Updated at 7:00 a.m.
Cédric Kahn was born into a left-leaning Jewish family and had long been aware of the Pierre Goldman affair. He was the author of several books, including Obscure Memories of a Polish Jew Born in France (Points, 1975).
“I always saw this book lying around my parents’ house, although my mother told me 10 days ago that they never had this book. I always knew that Jean-Jacques Goldman had a slightly sulphurous half-brother, that he was far left, that he was on trial, that he had been murdered at 35, but I didn’t know much,” says the filmmaker visits Cinemania to To present The Goldman Trial and Making of, where he talks about a difficult shoot.
Set in April 1976, The Goldman Trial recounts the highlights of the second trial of this son of Polish Jewish immigrants who were involved in the resistance. After pleading guilty to three robberies, he claims he did not commit a fourth robbery in which two nurses were killed. In the courtroom the audience is divided. At times this trial, which was widely publicized at the time, seemed to be reminiscent of the Dreyfus affair, which was pending against this Jewish captain accused of treason and which divided France at the end of the 19th century.
“In any case, Goldman’s strategy was to be compared to the Dreyfus affair, but obviously that had nothing to do with it,” says Cédric Kahn.
Goldman’s secret service is said to have politicized his trial because in reality it is a shameful murder, a robbery gone wrong, and not a political matter. Unless he fought for the revolution, but he doesn’t say that.
Cedric Kahn
In addition to the equally charismatic and unsympathetic revolutionary, played brilliantly by Arieh Worthalter, we find three lawyers who will shed light on the anti-Semitism of the police, master Georges Kiejman (Arthur Arari, co-author of “Anatomy of a Fall”, by Justine Triet) , Francis Chouraqui (Jeremy Lewin) and Émile Bartoli (Christian Mazzucchini).
“In France it is a taboo subject, but it is a real problem: racism. And that doesn’t just apply to the police. I am always a little embarrassed when I am told that the political left only ever targets racism in politics out of comfort, opportunism and election campaigns. For me, courage means targeting racism throughout society. »
“A mockumentary”
Since the transcripts of the trial were not accessible, co-author Nathalie Hertzberg reconstructed the witness statements based on newspaper articles: “We were told that they did not exist at that time and that the court reporters started noting them down later.” 1980s. The film is a fiction, I mean, it is a selection, a concentrate. It even added things that weren’t there at the time of the process. We didn’t take any liberties but added excerpts from books. »
As a fan of legal dramas, Cédric Kahn was inspired by documentaries for the Goldman trial. Citing “The Trial of Adolf Eichmann” by Michaël Prazan and “A Specialist, Portrait of a Modern Criminal” by Eyal Sivan, he admits that he suggested that the actors watch the trial of O. J. Simpson: “I think it’s great to see these images of justice filmed live on television. We don’t have that in France. »
Even though emphasis was placed on authenticity in the historical reconstruction as well as in the statements in court and the actors’ acting, the filmmaker denies wanting to make a realistic film.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Cedric Kahn
In fact, the film is designed like a tennis match. For me, the challenge was to captivate and immerse the viewer so that they feel like they are witnessing a trial. I wanted to create images of a French trial through fiction. It’s made like a mockumentary.
Cedric Kahn
“The lawyers who saw it found my film very, very chaotic, even though it was a not very well-run trial and it was very loud in the room. It must also be said that I have a lot of difficulty with the rules… When I came to Quebec to film “A Better Life”, it was very difficult to get used to the way of filming. »
Cédric Kahn also does not claim to sign a memorial obligation. At most a testimony to the times that reflect ours. “If we make a film about Goldman in 2023, are we evoking the 1970s or what Goldman was evoking back then? When he spoke about the racism of the 1970s, of a divided France, he referred to the occupation, to collaboration versus resistance. From there the perspective is endless. Even today, the extreme right in France has never had so many voters. For me, this is the biggest problem in France today. In fact, it is a global phenomenon. »
The Goldman Trial will be shown at the Imperial Cinema on November 1st at 6:30 p.m. and at the Museum Cinema on November 2nd at 3:00 p.m. In cinemas from November 3rd.
“Making of” will be shown at the museum’s cinema on November 1st at 11:30 a.m. and at the Cinémathèque québécoise on November 2nd at 5:30 p.m.
Who is Cedric Kahn?
The actor, screenwriter and director Cédric Kahn, born in Paris in 1966, made his film debut as an intern editing Under the Sun of Satan by Maurice Pialat.
After directing two short films and co-writing several screenplays, he made his first feature film, Bar des Rails, in 1993.
He eventually gained notoriety with Boredom (1998), an adaptation of Alberto Moravia’s novel, and Roberto Succo (2001), based on the life of an Italian serial killer.