An Officer and a Spy (2019)

In 1894, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment at Devil's island.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Robert Harris (screenplay), Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Stars:

Louis Garrel, Christophe Maratier, Pierre Poirot

12 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louis Garrel	...	Alfred Dreyfus
Christophe Maratier	...	Adjudant dégradation
Pierre Poirot	...	Greffier Vallecalle
Stéfan Godin	...	Général Darras (as Stefan Godin)
Jean Dujardin	...	Picquart
Grégory Gadebois	...	Henry
Eric Ruf	...	Sandherr (as Eric Ruf de la Comédie Française)
Wladimir Yordanoff	...	Général Mercier
Didier Sandre	...	Général Boisdeffre (as Didier Sandre de la Comédie Française)
Yannik Landrein	...	Gast (as Yannick Landrein)
Vincent Perez	...	Maître Leblois (as Vincent Pérez)
Luca Barbareschi	...	Philippe Monnier
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Pauline Monnier
Hervé Pierre	...	Général Gonse (as Hervé Pierre de la Comédie Française)
Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina	...	Bachir (as Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina)

Storyline

In 1894, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young promising officer, is degraded for spying for Germany, wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment at Devil's Island. Among the witnesses to his humiliation is Georges Picquart, who is promoted to run the military counter-intelligence unit that tracked him down. But when Picquart discovers that secrets are still being handed over to the Germans, he is drawn into a dangerous labyrinth of deceit and corruption that threatens not just his honor but his life.

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Plot Keywords:

dreyfus affair | antisemitism | 1890s | based on true story | manipulation | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The production was originally conceived as an English-language film with a Hollywood star in the lead to be shot on locations in Poland. Later, tax cuts enabled the film to be produced on the original locations in Paris, France, and in the French language with a French cast.

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Quotes

Picquart: I want to see the Dreyfuss file.

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Soundtracks

The Swan (piano version)
Composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
Performed by Jean Dujardin

User Reviews

Enjoyable and well made

This is a really enjoyable movie, even though it has a slow pace, it is not boring at all and it is made properly.

A clear example of this is the scene in the church, when Picquart goes to pick something up, this is a slow yet intriguing scene, you are wondering what's going to happeng, is someone going to hand it in to him? Who is the right person and How's he going to spot them? This is a great scene.

It is also clear how you could tell that Polanski made this movie to try to express his innocence in a way. Perhaps he wanted to tell us he is like Dreyfus. (I am not a big fan of this).

Also (no spoilers) the last scene is important if you care about the meaning of the movie as (according to my interpretation) it reveals Picquart's actual intentions and the reasoning behind his behaviour during the whole movie.

I would also ask this movie for a bit more of emotional depth. However I cannot complain, I really liked it since it's visually and technically pleasant as well as interesting.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

13 November 2019 (France)

Also Known As:

An Officer and a Spy

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$25,300,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,878,658

Company Credits

Production Co:

Légende Films, R.P. Productions, Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1