Last year’s winner of the 76th Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, highly acclaimed in France and at the festivals it has been showcased, Anatomie d’une chute (Anatomy of a Fall, 2023) made headlines not only for its accolades but also for director Justine Triet’s Cannes acceptance speech, where she highlighted that her film received no government support and criticized the state’s indifference toward late retirement activists. While the director’s stance during the awards ceremony and debates about its legitimacy or whether the film might become one of France’s Oscar submissions to the US can be discussed, in this critique, we’ll limit ourselves to discussing the film.
Before diving into whether Anatomie d’une chute leans more toward a visually-driven cinematic piece or a text-driven literary work, let’s address the performances, particularly Sandra Hüller’s.
Sandra Hüller gained attention, notably with Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade). While Toni Erdmann itself is delightful, Hüller’s sincere and masterful acting elevates the film to another level. Since then, she has appeared a few more times, but in 2023, Sandra Hüller is undoubtedly experiencing one of her best years. She starred in three films this year, all of which received awards from significant festivals:
- The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer) – Cannes: Grand Prize
- Anatomie d’une chute (Justine Triet) – Cannes: Palme d’Or
- Sisi & Ich (Frauke Finsterwalder) – German Film Awards (Best Actress nomination)
Watching Sandra Hüller in Anatomy of a Fall is undeniably a great pleasure; even using the cliché that she carries the entire weight of the film wouldn’t be an exaggeration. While other performances are commendable (Swann Arlaud and Milo Machado Graner), Hüller’s contribution is monumental. Additionally, comfortably handling a role predominantly in two languages (English and French) apart from her native tongue (German) is truly impressive.
Justine Triet in Cinema vs. Documentary
Returning to the film’s subject matter, its performances, and its success in leading the audience step by step towards a conclusion (albeit uncertain), it’s a commendable production, worth watching for Hüller’s performance alone. However, when a film receives so much praise as the “best film,” it naturally provokes thoughts about the art of cinema. Anatomy of a Fall largely progresses based on the text; it seems to lack much in terms of creating atmosphere through visuals, camera angles, or cinematic experience. However, discussing bold statements like “this is how the film is defined” wouldn’t be sensible; it’s better to examine the subject through trends.
As evident from her previous works, Justine Triet seems more inclined towards the text than visuals in her direction. Her first short film, Sur place (2007), documented the 2006 student uprising, followed by Solférino (2009), which centered around the French presidential elections. Subsequently, Des ombres dans la maison (2010) was a documentary, and La bataille de Solférino (2013) was a comedy based on real events. It’s as absurd to accuse a director of starting their career with documentaries as it is to assume that’s my intention; however, the foundation upon which Anatomy of a Fall leans (aside from Hüller) lies partly in the director’s past.
Naturally, one might ask, “Why should discussing dialogue for most of the film be an issue?” Well, simply because, colloquially speaking, theater isn’t the sibling of cinema. In cinema, it’s not expected for every character to deliver long monologues as in theater, nor is it a common occurrence. Are there films that do this well? Certainly; for instance, 12 Angry Men (S. Lumet, 1957) and, of course, the three-hour masterpiece Judgment at Nuremberg (S. Kramer, 1960). If Anatomy of a Fall aimed to even remotely approach these productions, heavyweight actors should have been cast instead of Swann Arlaud and Antoine Reinartz in the prosecutor and defense attorney roles, respectively. One cannot easily forget Maximilian Schell’s voice resonating in the courtroom in Nuremberg, for instance.
Text Use in Cinema
As we learn from cinema theorists, it’s impossible to define cinema without including any other art form. According to many filmmakers, cinema is made up of all of them: literature, painting, sculpture, theater, music, and dance. Adding architecture is also plausible. Therefore, text or literature, poetry, monologues, in short, textual elements are undoubtedly present in cinema. However, the extent of textual usage can entirely transform our perception of a cinematic piece. When used in moderation or presented with skilled acting in the right context, it’s often hardly noticeable. On the other hand, when a viewer finds more text than visual representations, it’s like reading a symphony’s scores instead of listening to music instead of watching a film.
Of course, as with everything, this issue is highly subjective, based on personal preferences. You might believe that actors continuously delivering lines in front of you on the big screen represents the epitome of cinema, and you’d be entirely justified. However, even if your perception of cinema aligns in this way, Anatomy of a Fall falls short. Director Triet embarked on a narrative focused on the possibility of a spouse bearing all the blame in the face of her husband’s suspicious death, both in her private life and in courtrooms, believing in the power of a text centered on such events. By playing with the audience’s stance on which side to take, she created a documentary-like ambiance in the film. And as we mentioned from the outset, with a narrative heavily reliant on dialogue and text (not just in the courtroom scenes but throughout), it strays quite far from cinema.
Justine Triet is justified in believing in the strength of the screenplay she co-wrote with Arthur Harari; the story is quite solid. However, in the process of translating the existing text into cinema, the visual aspect falls short. The biggest saving grace of the film is Sandra Hüller’s masterful acting, along with a few short but impactful lines written for the child character towards the end. When we look at Anatomy of a Fall, it’s not a work of art steeped in a love for cinema; rather, it’s an attempt to showcase societal facts such as how hurtful prejudices can be and how easy it is for an individual, especially a woman, to be accused of a crime.
Anatomie d'une chute Anatomy of a Fall crime drama Justine Triet movies reviews Sandra Hüller thriller
Last modified: January 2, 2024
