The 10th Judicial Court: Judicial Hearings Reviews

Once when I went to see my sister in France, I borrowed her a box-set with some documentaries directed by Raymond Depardon. Depardon is pretty much unknown here in Listal and also abroad, I guess, but he has a decent reputation in France, above all, as a documentary maker (as a matter of fact, I have seen none of his fictions but I’m not sure if they are any good). Personally, I really like his directing style. Indeed, there is no comment whatsoever, no music added. Basically, you have to make it up on your own the significance of what you just saw and I thought it was a rather spellbinding approach. This time, he was allowed to film some civil hearings which is something quite exceptional since it has never happened before in France. Here, we are really far from the glamour and excitement of your typical Hollywood feature and the only thing you get is the sober reality of some usually mundane proceedings but it gives a really striking view on common people. To conclude, I thought it was a really well made and rather fascinating documentary and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in this genre.