A biography of sorts about the noted French author and journalist Émile Zola (Paul Muni) who is perhaps best remembered for his activism.
The film recounts the bulk of Zola's life fairly quickly, beginning with the impoverished period of his life when he became friends with the painter Paul Cézanne. There are a few scenes involved with the publication of one of his best known works the novel Nana, and then we fairly quickly move forward to his involvement in the infamous Dreyfus affair. There is little to no discussion of Zola's other works or his journalism.
The most important part of the film is Zola's impassioned defense of Captain Dreyfus a Jewish officer wrongly convicted of treason. Zola wrote an open letter to the French President to which the media attached the headline "J'accuse!" (I accuse!). For this Zola would be charged with libel and in the course of his defense he would attempt to expose to the world the truth behind the conviction of Dreyfus. The aspects of anti-Semitism in the case are barely acknowledged in the film.
While I was impressed with the both performances and the production values (particularly for the period) of the film, I did find something lacking. Perhaps its simply the fact that there have been so many great court room dramas produced subsequently.
Paul Muni gives a powerful and effective performance though his style may appear dated to some. Over the course of the film Zola's appearance changes considerably and Muni does an impressive job of virtually disappearing into the role. Muni had one the Oscar in the previous year (for another biographical role in The Story of Louis Pasteur) and would be nominated another 4 times as well, including for this role.
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