Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer”

Saint Omer (2022)

A contemplation of generational divides, motherhood and isolation is at the heart of this potent, slow-burning courtroom drama

After several successful documentaries, this is Alice Diop’s fictional feature debut based on a true case of infaticide to which she witnessed first hand. In the film, Rama(Kayije Kagame) is a successful writer and literature professor who travels to Saint Omer to witness the trial of Laurence Coly(Guslagie Malanda) with the intention of writing a new book around it alluding to the Greek myth of Medea but the trial stirs memories and feelings of her own life. In many ways, this is a courtroom drama that isn’t a courtroom drama with the core of the film focussing more generally on generational divides, motherhood and isolation.

That said, the first act in the trial is a nearly real-time recreation and really pulls the audience into that courtroom but as time goes on, we see things more and more from Rama’s perspective which in turn pivots the film in a new direction where the impact of the trial is more important than the intricacies of the trial itself. Elements of race and racism come into play, but the heart of the film is more universal than that. At one point, Laurence is asked why she would choose to study a European philosopher rather than one closer to her culture which misses out on the universal nature of said thought and I think similar perspectives may wrongfully dismiss this film. Diop is quoted as saying, “It’s like André Malraux said, ‘When you want to understand someone you don’t judge, and when you judge someone, you do not understand.’”

It’s a slow burn with lots to consider and open to many layers of interpretation led by two powerful perfromances from Kagame and Malanda which sticks to the landing in its final act and never strays into exploitative spectacle. Excellent.