It’s a middling historical drama, finely crafted and ever so slightly stodgy in spite of a compelling last act.
An Officer and a Spy(J'accuse)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France, Italy · 2019
2h 12m
Director Roman Polanski
Starring Jean Dujardin, Louis Garrel, Emmanuelle Seigner, Grégory Gadebois
Genre History, Drama, Thriller
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
In 1894, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment at Devil's Island.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Any controversy that might erupt over Roman Polanski’s decision to implicitly equate himself with one of history’s greatest victims of injustice is dissipated by the resultant film’s tepid listlessness.
A peevish and self-satisfied procedural that unravels the Dreyfus Affair with all the journalistic doggedness of “Spotlight,” but none of the same integrity.
The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
One couldn’t wish for a more painstakingly researched or beautifully rendered account of the infamous Dreyfus affair than Roman Polanski’s An Officer and a Spy (J’Accuse).... Yet the result is oddly lacking in heart and soul, almost as though a mask of military discipline held it in check.
The film itself is utterly uncontroversial, solid, occasionally stolid, and perfectly fine.
An Officer and a Spy has a this-happened-and-then-this-happened quality. And that’s why the movie, beneath the two-dimensional jauntiness of its acting and the period vividness of its sets and costumes, feels more dutiful than riveting.
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
This is a sober, stiff-collared procedural, handsomely shot but also oddly bloodless until the more conventional paranoid-thriller rhythms of its final act kick in.
Jean Dujardin is quietly excellent as the French officer whose growing conviction that Alfred Dreyfus (Louis Garrel) is innocent of treason puts him on a collision course with his superiors. The Oscar-winning actor provides the film with its soulful centre, despite the familiarity of the material and its procedural tone.
It’s a solid, well-crafted piece of professional carpentry, like a heavy piece of Victorian furniture; built to last; built to be used. The longer you look at it, the more impressive it grows.
Users who liked this film also liked
To Be and to Have
(Être et avoir)
A passionate school teacher forges a warm and unique classroom community in rural France.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2002
- Director Nicolas Philibert
- Cast Georges Lopez
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Hoopla, Kanopy
Wedding Unplanned
(Jour J)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2017
- Director Reem Kherici
- Cast Reem Kherici, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Sylvie Testud, Julia Piaton, Chantal Lauby, François-Xavier Demaison
- Genre Romance, Comedy
- Available on Google Play Movies
The Vanishing
A psychological thriller based on the real-life disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in 1900.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2019
- Director Kristoffer Nyholm
- Cast Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan, Connor Swindells, Søren Malling, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Gary Lewis
- Genre Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling, Pluto TV
The Wedding Guest
A mysterious, young British Muslim man travels across Pakistan and India.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2019
- Director Michael Winterbottom
- Cast Dev Patel, Radhika Apte, Jim Sarbh, Harish Khanna, Nish Nathwani
- Genre Thriller
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Raoul Taburin
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2019
- Director Pierre Godeau
- Cast Benoît Poelvoorde, Edouard Baer, Suzanne Clément, Victor Assié, Grégory Gadebois, Ilona Bachelier
- Genre Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Truth
(La Vérité)
A French film superstar's decision to publish her memoirs causes old tensions, feelings, and conflicts with her daughter to resurface.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Japan, Switzerland • 2019
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke, Clémentine Grenier, Manon Clavel, Alain Libolt
- Genre Drama
- Available on AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube
My Dog Stupid
(Mon chien stupide)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2019
- Director Yvan Attal
- Cast Yvan Attal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Pascale Arbillot, Eric Ruf, Sébastien Thiery, Ben Attal
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Plex, Plex Channel
Tel Aviv on Fire
A wry, insightful comedy about a hapless production intern on a Palestinian soap opera.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Luxembourg, Belgium, Israel • 2018
- Director Sameh Zoabi
- Cast Kais Nashif, Lubna Azabal, Yaniv Biton, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Nadim Sawalha
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Cohen Media Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV
Man Up!
(Un vrai bonhomme)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Benjamin Parent
- Cast Thomas Guy, Benjamin Voisin, Isabelle Carré, Laurent Lucas, Nils Othenin-Girard, Tasnim Jamlaoui
- Genre Drama, Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Santiago, Italia
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, Chile • 2018
- Director Nanni Moretti
- Cast Nanni Moretti, Patricio Guzmán, Carmen Castillo, Miguel Littín, Alejandra Matus
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, VUDU Free, Kanopy
The Traitor
(Il traditore)
After trying to leave the mafia for Brazil, Tommaso Buscetta is forced to return to Italy and become an informant.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, Germany • 2019
- Director Marco Bellocchio
- Cast Pierfrancesco Favino, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fausto Russo Alesi, Luigi Lo Cascio, Bruno Cariello
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Les Misérables
A policeman discovers how deep tensions run among gangs in the Parisian suburbs.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Ladj Ly
- Cast Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djibril Zonga, Steve Tientcheu, Jeanne Balibar
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
Cetto c'è, senzadubbiamente
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2019
- Director Giulio Manfredonia
- Cast Antonio Albanese, Nicola Rignanese, Katsiaryna Shulha, Aurora Quattrocchi, Gianfelice Imparato, Davide Giordano
- Genre Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
La Belle Époque
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Nicolas Bedos
- Cast Daniel Auteuil, Guillaume Canet, Doria Tillier, Fanny Ardant, Pierre Arditi, Denis Podalydès
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Goddess of Fortune
(La dea fortuna)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2019
- Director Ferzan Özpetek
- Cast Stefano Accorsi, Edoardo Leo, Jasmine Trinca, Serra Yılmaz, Sara Ciocca, Filippo Nigro
- Genre Drama
- Available on FlixFling, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere
(Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2020
- Director Arnaud Viard
- Cast Aurore Clément, Jean-Paul Rouve, Alice Taglioni, Camille Rowe, Benjamin Lavernhe, Elsa Zylberstein
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Forest of Love
(愛なき森で叫べ)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United States • 2019
- Director Sion Sono
- Cast Kippei Shiina, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Kyoko Hinami, Young Dais, Eri Kamataki, Yuzuka Nakaya
- Genre Crime, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Perfumes
(Les Parfums)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2020
- Director Grégory Magne
- Cast Emmanuelle Devos, Grégory Montel, Gustave Kervern, Sergi López, Zélie Rixhon, Eva Chico Veiga
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, OVID, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy