People digging into the truth, a family left with nothing but bones… Movie ‘Anatomy of a Fall’

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Bo-ram = A man is found fallen near a log cabin surrounded by snowy mountains.

His son Daniel, who is visually impaired, was the first to notice him dead with blood splattered on the snow.

Daniel screams and searches for his mother, and Sandra (played by Sandra Wheeler) sticks her head out the window, startled by her son’s call.

Directed by Justine Trier, the French film ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ This is the first scene where tragedy begins for the family.

The mother and son, who lost their husband and father respectively, face an even bigger hurdle before they can console themselves of the pain of loss. When the autopsy results of the deceased man, Samuel (Samuel Tice), raised the possibility of murder, the prosecution began to suspect Sandra.

The family’s home, which may have dreamed of a leisurely life, is trampled under the footsteps of investigators. Young Daniel not only constantly describes the circumstances of the accident, but also listens without filter to the terrible sounds produced by the mannequin fall experiment.

The person who suffers the most is Sandra, who was designated as a suspect. He is put in a situation where he must claim that her husband committed suicide in order to prove that he did not murder Samuel.

After Sandra is indicted, the film moves to a courtroom. The truth battle between the prosecutor, defense attorney, witness, judge, and defendant Sandra in a small space is tense enough to take your breath away.

The audience briefly becomes a jury and guesses whether Sandra is the culprit or not based on fragmentary information.

However, the prosecutor and the witnesses he presented are obsessed with confirmation bias and completely rule out the possibility that Samuel took his own life.

Rather than proving how Sandra murdered Samuel, they argue that she had no choice but to kill her husband given their relationship at the time.

In the process, Sandra’s sexual preferences, the secrets she wanted to hide, and her intimate relationship with her husband are revealed in detail.

Daniel, who is observing the trial, falls into confusion as he learns about the conflict between his parents that he had no idea about.

The flashback scene where Sandra and Samuel criticize and push each other makes not only Daniel but also the audience think that Sandra may have really killed her husband.

However, these few clues do not tell us the whole truth of that day.

Among people who are convinced that what they want to believe is the truth, the true truth remains buried in the snow and cannot come out into the world.

As the title suggests, this movie appears to be dissecting the story of a man who fell to his death, but if you look closely, what is being dissected is a woman named Sandra and the people he had relationships with.

Prosecutors and the media delve into the private lives of Sandra and Samuel, regardless of whether there was a murder or not, and the son faces a world of adults that he does not need to know. This family, torn apart here and there, ends up in tatters, with only the skeleton remaining.

Director Trier is said to have attempted to symbolically depict the process of love declining while dealing with the fall of a relationship. He wrote the screenplay with his lover, screenwriter Arthur Harari.

With this film, Director Trier becomes the third female director, following Jane Campion with ‘The Piano’ (1993) and Julia Ducourneau with ‘The Titans'(2021). It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes International Film Festival.

It took home the Best Non-English Language Film and Best Screenplay awards at the recently held Golden Globe Awards in the U.S., and the Best Foreign Language Film trophy at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Former U.S. President Barack Obama also selected ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ as the best film of last year.

German actress Wheeler, who played Sandra, is considered a strong candidate for the Best Actress award at the American and British Academy Awards.

Director Trier worked on the script from the beginning with Wheeler in mind as Sandra. Wheeler, famous for ‘Tony Erdman'(2017) and ‘In the Isle'(2018), is director Trier’s previous film ‘Civil'(2019).) also appeared.

Wheeler leads the play as the sole protagonist, but does not let the tension slow down with his overwhelming acting skills throughout the long running time. In particular, the long sequence in which her emotions gradually escalate as she argues with her husband leaves a deep impression.

It will be released on the 31st. 152 minutes. Suitable for ages 15 and older.

rambo@yna.co.kr

▶ Report via KakaoTalk okjebo