Faculty of Law and Political Science

Special Section

Published on in Ciné Droit

Speaker : Maxime Brenaut

► 4/03/25 > 17h30

► Bât. 1 > Amphi. Cambacérès (1.0.B)

A major milestone in Costa-Gavras' collaboration with Jorge Semprun, "Section spéciale" reveals the details of the Vichy government's creation of an exceptional law, and its chaotic application by judges in 1941.

The dialectic of ends and means, the renunciation of the cardinal principles of liberal law, the retroactive application of a harsher criminal law, judicial arbitrariness and careerism, the effectiveness of the defense... All these classic themes are tackled in a clinical way by this 1975 film, with a remarkable cast.