Justice | Telescope Film
Justice

Justice (Justiça)

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  • Netherlands,
  • Brazil
  • 2004
  • · 107m

Director Maria Augusta Ramos
Cast Fátima Maria Clemente, Carlos Eduardo Rocha, Maria Ignez Kato, Elma Lusitano, Geraldo Luiz Mascarenhas Prado
Genre Documentary

In Justiça, Maria Ramos puts a camera where many Brazilians have never been - a criminal courtroom in Rio de Janeiro, following the daily routine of several characters. There are those that work there every day (public attorneys, judges, and prosecutors) and those that are merely passing through (the accused). The camera is used as an instrument that sees the social theatre, the structures of power - that is to say, what is, in general, invisible to us. The corridors of the Courts of Justice, the design and layout of the courtroom, the discourse, the codes, postures - all the little visual details and sounds become relevant.

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What are critics saying?

80

Variety

Already a master of the objective eye, Ramos uses her unobtrusive camera to uncover the frustrations inherent in a vastly imbalanced society where hope is scarce and the future is dim.

75

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

Because Justice is from the Wiseman school of documentaries, there's no narration and people don't share their thoughts with the camera, which means the movie can come off as a little hollow.

70

Village Voice by Joshua Land

With its unobtrusive visual style, Justice plays like a near-parody of documentary objectivity, subtly suggesting the malleable nature of "truth," both in the courtroom and the movie theater.

50

The New York Times by Neil Genzlinger

Over all, though, the hands-off approach leaves the viewer to draw his own conclusions, but without providing enough information.