The true story of the trial of Jean-Jacques Goldman’s half-brother in a ruthless film at Cannes

The face of extreme left-wing militancy, supported by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone Signore and other famous names of culture, the intellectual who turned to banditry in the 1970s.

An activist and intellectual born in 1944 An activist and intellectual born in 1944 came under the spotlight for robberies, one of which received a criminal sentence for robbery. Pierre Goldman, who maintains his innocence, is an unapproachable and irreverent soul who troubles his lawyer, Georges Kiejman.

This is the theme of the feature film The Court of Goldman, the opening film of the Quinzaine des Cinéastes at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Cédric Kahn (Roberto Succo, A Better Life, Family Celebration), this feature film directed by Arie Vorthalter and Arthur Harar recalls the second trial of Pierre Goldman.

If Pierre Goldman’s name means something to you, it’s because he’s associated with a French favorite. The activist and gangster is indeed the older half-brother of singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman, a French favorite with 30 million records sold.

Cedric Kahn’s feature film therefore focuses on the second trial of Pierre Goldman, which began in November 1975 and ended in May 1976, for four armed robberies, one of which resulted in the deaths of two pharmacists. The director immerses us in a suffocating and thrilling camerawork that weaves together brilliantly scripted verbal contests and dissects the raging passions of various protagonists directly or indirectly connected to the case.

More than a portrait of a man who proclaims his innocence (only of the murders), the film depicts the complexity of a figure – a kind of myth of the intellectual left – who condemns, in his status as a would-be martyr, the excesses of the police-justice of the 1970s that can easily be Compare with our modern society.

But it is also about the power of language and the power of words when they are the only attack or defense in a legal case that lacks indisputable evidence. The Goldman Trial is a tongue-in-cheek yet captivating film that manages to hook the audience and bring it to life in this trial room with rhythm and some passion.

The Goldman Trial can count on a stunning performanceArie Waralter In the skin of Pierre Goldman. The Franco-Belgian actor, recently seen in Serre moi fort, Bowling Saturne and Le Parfum Vert, fits perfectly into this provocative and enigmatic political figure who has divided France.

The rest of the cast is also very solid, leading Arthur Harar (Onoda – 10,000 Nights in the Jungle), in the sensitive shoes of young lawyer Georges Kiejman, but also Nicolas Brianson (Engrenages), Jeremy Levin, Stephane Guerin-Thillier and Aurelien Chaussauds.

Who was Peter Goldman?

Born to resistant parents, this former Sorbonne student joined many left-wing student groups and unions in his youth before staying in Latin America several times to join the ranks of the guerrillas in the late 1960s.

He then returned to Paris, but was wanted for insubordination because he had not completed the mandatory three days of military service. In 1969, he committed several armed robberies, for which he was arrested. Also accused of murdering two pharmacists on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir in the 21st arrondissement of Paris, Pierre Goldman was sentenced to life in prison in 1974 by the Paris Assizes.

Pierre Goldman writes an autobiography during his imprisonment Vague memories of a Polish Jew born in FrancePublished shortly before his second trial, serving as his trial testimony, it became a popular and critical success, selling over 60,000 copies.

This book, in which he explains his background, his parents’ acts of resistance and his own struggle, allows him to attract the sympathy of public opinion and the support of many French personalities.

Due to a formal error, the first verdict was overturned the following year, and Pierre Goldman was tried in a second trial in Amiens in 1976, in which he was acquitted of the murders of two pharmacists. However, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison for other robberies.

But he is eligible for parole five months after his sentencing, due to a pretrial hearing and reduced sentence. After his release, Pierre Goldman continued to write and collaborate with newspapers such as Liberation and Les Temps Modernes.

He is also publishing his second book, Archibald Rapoport’s Common Trouble, which was less successful than his first book. First of all, her story – which features a character who is the author of a series of murders that looks like her – has raised doubts among her supporters and supporters, as well as her lawyer Georges Kiejman, who believe she has put herself in danger with the book.

In 1979, Pierre Goldman was killed by two men in the middle of the street in the 13th arrondissement. The police believe that the underworld is behind his murder, but this is claimed by an alleged far-right group called Police Honor. His murder is never clear.

The Goldman Trial hits theaters on September 27, 2023.