Educational Media Reviews Online

A Sense of Justice is a French documentary that focuses on three lawyers whose law practice specializes in assisting immigrants with their residency cases. The clients highlighted in this film are buffeted by bureaucratic whims, arcane laws, and an ever-changing political climate. The lawyers trying to help them are overworked and pragmatic regarding their chances of a favorable legal outcome to the challenges their clients face. This is heavy subject matter, yet the film never descends into despair or tedium; the brisk pace, flashes of humor, and comradery among the legal staff and interns makes for a very thought-provoking viewing experience.

The lawyers are never shown outside of the office; there are no segues into their personal lives or courtroom scenes. They meet with clients, confer among themselves, counsel interns, take smoke breaks, make phone calls, shuffle stacks of case folders and papers. The viewer never sees a resolution to any of the immigrants’ legal cases. If this sounds dry and boring, it’s not. The filmmaker’s choice of tight close-up shots of lawyer-client meetings and singular focus on the legal office environment results in a surprisingly tense and fast-moving story; the never-ending caseload the lawyers labor under is effectively showcased via this snapshot method. Not following each legal case to its conclusion keeps the viewer in limbo, mirroring the limbo that clients are trapped in.

A Sense of Justice is a very quiet film; it has English subtitles, but the filmmaker chose not to include a soundtrack. This choice allows each lawyer-client meeting to be defined by the personal interactions between them, which deepens the poignancy of each immigrant’s story. The clients are people swept up by the vicissitudes of life in a country they were not born in and that is not always welcoming. Communication can be a problem if their French isn’t strong. Competent legal representation is the only option they have for legally remaining in France where their friends, loved ones, schools and jobs are.

Red tape is red tape, no matter the country. Bureaucratic administrative systems aren’t designed to take human needs and wants into account. This is powerfully illustrated in A Sense of Justice; no soundtrack needed. Facial expressions and body language are universal, and viewers vicariously experience the resignation and tension as clients learn their limited legal options. By tightly focusing on lawyer-client interactions and stripping any extraneous detail from this documentary, the filmmaker has created a very thought-provoking film that will stay with the viewer long after the credits roll.

Awards:
Festival International de Cinéma de Marseille (FIDMarseille) 2021, Official Selection

Published and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Anyone can use these reviews, so long as they comply with the terms of the license.