This is the final film in the series, “The Court Martial at Rennes” because two other films have been lost. The court martial takes place at the Lycée in Rennes. The bailiff of the court strides up and makes an announcement. The judges arrive and take their seats, along with Dreyfus’s lawyer Maître Labori and two other men. Dreyfus is then brought in, and a judge questions him. General Mercier, the first witness, enters, salutes the judges, and mimes that he’d like a seat. A chair is brought in, and a debate follows, which becomes heated to the point when Mercier leaps up and begins gesticulating. Mercier’s testimony lasted for four hours and he definitely dominated the courtroom, although Picquart, not shown in the film, also left a lasting impression with his cool intellect. When Mercier sits down, Dreyfus rises and makes a protest. Unfortunately for Dreyfus, they found him guilty once again. However, his sentence was much lighter, having to serve only ten years, with credit given for the five he had already served. The next question to ask was whether to apply for a pardon. Many people, Emile Zola included, felt that asking for a pardon implied guilt. However if a pardon would be granted within twenty-four hours it would seem as though the government knew they made a mistake. A pardon was asked for, mainly because it did not look like Alfred Dreyfus could handle another week in jail, let alone another five years. Also Dreyfus was told he would get the pardon within at most two days. The pardon did not come until eight days later. Lucie and Alfred’s brother Matthieu took Alfred to the country to recuperate, he had lost a lot weight and had difficulty speaking.
This film is harder to follow than the other ones if you do not know the story since there is less action. However, the people of Georges Melies’s time would have known the case well, it being the most popular case in France at the time. People were able to buy each film individually making it much more affordable and practical. The film however was highly controversial and was banned in France until around 1950. This is possibly and probably the first time a film was censored for political reasons.
