150 Word Review: 'Saint Omer' (2022)
Justice is blind
Within the walls of a compact French courtroom, a Senegalese immigrant is tried for the murder of her newborn. It’s a sensational, controversial trial, but director Alice Diop’s Saint Omer, loosely based on a true story, is a rich, nuanced documentary-style drama.
The mother, played with composure and vulnerability by Guslagie Malanda, left her 15-month-old on a beach during high tide. Why? Sorcery is mentioned. Kayije Kagame, a novelist, watches the spectacle. Kagame is Saint Omer’s emotional center and a stand-in for the audience. Her character is successful and mesmerized.
But this is Malanda’s movie; she is defiant and human, as her character endures clinical cross-examinations and fraught witness testimonies. This isn’t a traditional “you’re out of order!” melodrama; it is reserved and intense. What is the truth? Is Malanda’s mother a modern Medea? Diop asks questions about colonialism, motherhood, and interracial relationships, fearlessly and without the promise of answers.