ANATOMY OF A FALL

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Anatomy of a Fall (France) 
Location: SilverCity
Showtimes: 6:30 & 9:15 pm

Director: Justine Triet
Cast:  Sandra Hüller, Samuel Theis, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner
Running time: 151 minutes
Language: French, German, with English Subtitles 

Awards: Golden Globes: Best Screenplay; Best Non English Language Film; British Independent Film Awards: Best International Independent Film; Gotham Awards: Best International Film, Best Screenplay; National Board of Review: Best Film; Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Non-English Language Film, Best Actress, Best Editing; New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best International Film; Toronto Film Critics Association: Best Director, Outstanding Lead Performance; 37 other wins, 115  nominations. 

“Triet has made a film that succeeds brilliantly — on terms that are as exacting, rigorous and precise as her unflappable heroine.”—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

The much-lauded winner of this year’s Palme d’Or and Golden Globe winner for Best Screenplay, Justine Triet’s fourth feature has cemented her status as one of today’s great filmmaking talents. Unfolding over two-and-a-half hours like a compulsively readable novel, the riveting “Anatomy of a Fall” is both a dissection of an intimate relationship and of the judiciary process. 

Sandra (a ferocious, magnetic, and edgy Sandra Hüller; “Toni Erdmann,” “The Zone of Interest”) is a successful German writer who lives in the French Alps with her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) and their visually-impaired son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner). 

A brilliant, decibel-bursting opening scene suggests tensions in their isolated chalet, so when Samuel is discovered dead in the snow beneath one of their windows, suspicion is quickly aroused. Did he take his own life, or was he pushed to his death? 

When the investigation proves to be inconclusive — its varying angles hinting at the microscopic examination to come — Sandra is ultimately indicted and put on trial.

A captivating and sharply directed, written, and acted courtroom procedural, “Anatomy of a Fall” functions like a trenchant autopsy of confirmation bias and ambiguity itself, with the court an operatic arena in which every gesture, word, and past interaction are ripe for judgment. 

As scrutiny turns to Sandra’s complex character and her tumultuous relationship with Samuel — their artistic rivalries, romantic jealousies, and contempt — the couple’s young son becomes the key witness. Taut, suspenseful, and thrilling until the final moment, “Anatomy of a Fall” progresses like a heady puzzle that tackles the messiness of existence and the often-elusive nature of truth itself.