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Anatomy of a Fall is a French legal thriller, written by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, and directed by Triet. This is Justine Triet’s fourth film, but not the first that tackles the ins and outs of criminal trials. Her first foray into the world of legal drama came with her 2016 film In Bed with Victoria. On a budget of €6.2 million (which is roughly $6.8 million USD), Anatomy of a Fall had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May this year, winning the Palme D’Or and Palm Dog Awards. A month later, the film received the GIO Audience Award for Best International Narrative Feature from the Sydney Film Festival. Anatomy of a Fall also won the International Competition Audience Award at the Brussels International Film Festival in July.
The film, running 150 minutes long, features three spoken languages consisting of French, German, and English, which tie into the cultural differences and nationalism that affect the court systems in any international trial. Loosely inspired by real-life court cases, Anatomy of a Fall highlights the horrors and repercussions of a simple mistake that can come with traveling out of your country of origin. This article will tell you everything you need to know about the upcoming international thriller!
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on August 17, 2023 to include the latest trailer.
RELATED: 'Anatomy of a Fall' Review: Justine Triet Weaves a Twisted True Crime Family Drama - Cannes 2023
When Does Anatomy of a Fall Come Out?
Anatomy of a Fall is set to have its theatrical release in France on August 23, 2023. However, the American independent film production and distribution company, Neon, acquired the distribution rights for a US release, slated for a domestic limited theatrical release on October 13 this year. It’s likely that the film will become available to stream on online platforms sometime in the months following the limited theatrical release.
If you find yourself craving a legal thriller while you wait for Anatomy of a Fall to be available, you can check out the 2016 Netflix Original documentary, Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, which covers the case that piqued Justine Trier’s interest in creating a similar fictional legal thriller of her own. In addition, the French documentary miniseries The Staircase, which highlights the suspected murder of Kathleen Peterson by her husband, novelist Michael Peterson is also available on Netflix. The 13-episode series has also been adapted into an HBO docu-drama miniseries starring Academy Award-winning actors Colin Firth and Toni Collette.
Is There a Trailer for Anatomy of a Scandal?
Yes, there is. There are subtitles involved (unless you’re fluent in French), as the movie was set and filmed in France. You can watch the trailer below.
A trailer for the film's North American release was uploaded to NEON's YouTube channel on August 17, 2023. The trailer gives the audience an even better look at what to expect from the film as well as the central mystery.
What Is Anatomy of a Fall About?
Set in France, Anatomy of a Fall centers around the legal aftermath following the suspicious death of a husband and father after he fell off a balcony. The main suspect in Samuel’s death is his wife, Sandra, who is German. The only other person who could have witnessed anything is their young son, Daniel, who is blind. As the investigators ask questions, they begin to form a case against Sandra, interrogating her and Daniel separately. Daniel admits that his parents sometimes fight and yell at each other, but that he prefers to leave the house when they do, so he wasn’t home when the fall and subsequent death of his father occurred.
Sandra maintains that she is innocent of these accusations, but because she is German and speaks mostly English with the French detectives, the slight language barrier makes her story seem even more unbelievable. In addition to this, the investigators also dig up evidence that Sandra had cheated on her husband in the past, which has caused many of their fights within the past year. She does not deny the affair but remains firm in her claim that her husband’s death was accidental.
The official synopsis via NEON reads:
For the past year, Sandra, her husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he was murdered or committed suicide. Samuel's suspicious death is presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect. What follows is not just an investigation into the circumstances of Samuel's death but an unsettling psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel's conflicted relationship
Director Justine Trier has stated that she drew inspiration from and was “fascinated” by the 2007 trial of Amanda Knox, a young American woman who was accused of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy. While it can sometimes be much simpler for people living in certain European countries to travel to another country in a matter of spending a few hours in the car, the customs and laws still vary greatly from country to country. In an interview with Paris Match, (which was conducted and written in French), Trier stated “I really wanted to address the legal issue in its smallest details, to address the issues of the couple, of living together. It was also a pretext to dissect every bit of their life."
Who Stars in Anatomy of a Fall?
Sandra Hüller, a German actress, is playing the role of Sandra, the wife who is accused of pushing her husband to his death. Hüller is fluent in German, French, and English, and wanted to speak French in the film, but director Justine Trier instructed her to speak English instead, with feeble attempts to speak French, to further highlight the divisiveness that language barriers can cause in such situations. The two women have worked together previously on Trier’s 2019 film Sibyl.
Swann Arlaud, a French actor, will play the role of lead investigator Vincent. In many cases, especially high-profile cases, it has been documented that police will often pursue a narrative of what they believe happened based on what makes the most sense to them, even if it’s not rock-solid proof. Sometimes their gut instincts are correct, but there are many instances in which a person was convicted for a crime they did not commit, only to be proven innocent years after they had been found guilty and spent time in prison. In the trailer, you can see him questioning both Sandra and her son, Daniel, with somewhat leading questions that would support his theory.
French actor Antoine Reinartz plays the role of the lawyer, also known in French as L’avocat général, as seen in the trailer. His title roughly translates to English as “general counsel,” so he will most likely be Sandra’s defense lawyer in this film, possibly appointed to her by the court. Additionally, the role of Daniel, Sandra and Samuel’s blind son, will be played by Milo Machado-Graner (Waiting for Bojangles). Sandra’s husband, Samuel, is played by French actor Samuel Theis (Softie). While the majority of the film is centered around his death, there are plenty of flashback sequences that allow Theis to show off his acting chops. Also joining the cast are Jehnny Beth (Ex-Machina) as Marge Berger, Saadia Bentaïeb (Based on a True Story) as Maître Nour Boudaoud, and Camille Rutherford (Blue Is the Warmest Color) as Zoé Solidor.
Who Made Anatomy of a Fall?
As previously mentioned Anatomy of a Fall is directed by Justine Triet from a script that she co-wrote with Arthur Harari. Marie-Ange Luciani (120 BPM) and David Thion (Don Juan) are producing the film with Simon Beaufils (The Intouchables) serving as the cinematographer and Laurent Sénéchal (Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle) serving as the editor.
