10. The Life of Emile Zola: 1937

Moving into the double digits, we have The Life of Emile Zola coming in as the tenth film to win Best Picture. Although it is based on a real person, here is a huge disclaimer at the very beginning of the film that says that even though Zola was a real person, a large portion of the story being told has been fictionalized "for the purpose of this picture." Since I know nothing about the (actual) life of Emile Zola, I am going to treat this film like a fiction and not comment on what actually happened in real life and what didn't.

I thought that this movie was going to be more of an origin story; as Zola was a novelist, I was expecting more of the story of how he wrote his novels, and where he found his inspiration; that portion of the film, however, was only about 45 minutes long. The beginning of the origin story is about as one would expect: a broke artist, plugging leaking holes in his roof, trying to keep himself warm, desperate for inspiration. In the beginning, he lives with his best friend, Paul Cezanne, also a struggling artist. In a typical "right place, right time" scenario, Zola is inspired to write about events-- and, more importantly, injustices-- occurring right in his backyard. Montages of Zola's publications ensue, and in the next scene, Zola is sitting comfortably in a mansion with his wife and service staff.

The rest of the movie is about a years-long event involving Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a member of the French General Staff, who is accused, convicted, and imprisoned for treason, all the while swearing he is innocent. Dreyfus is exiled to Devil's Island on French Guiana, and his wife, Lucie, gets to work relentlessly trying to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, a new head of intelligence, Colonel Picquart, starts working for the French General Staff and finds evidence that not only proves Dreyfus's innocence, but also indicates the real traitor; however, his superior officers, afraid of the scandal that will ensue if they are found to have wrongly accused a man, pressure Picquart to keep the information secret. While this is all happening, Zola receives a letter nominating him for the French Academy, a prestigious honor. On the same day, coincidentally, two things happen: first, Lucie, familiar with Zola's past works and history of highlighting social injustice, visits Zola and begs him to help her cause in any way he can; Zola, out of fear of losing his nomination, refuses Lucie's request. Lucie leaves, and the second thing happens: Cezanne, now a successful painter, pays Zola a visit and expresses his disappointment in Zola. He says that Zola has forgotten his purpose and his mission, and has become complacent due to his wealth, success, and fame. Cezanne's words spur Zola, after a few pained facial expressions, to tear up the letter from the French Academy and write a letter to the French army, titled "J'accuse," charging the High Command of a cover-up. Zola, of course, is charged with libel, and, after every attempt made by the court to interfere with his fair trial, is convicted; however, he flees to England and goes into hiding. While Zola is in England, the traitor, Major Walsin-Esterhazy, confesses to his crimes and commits suicide. After his confession, Dreyfus is (finally) exonerated and brought back to France, where he is given a ceremony where he is reinstated and inducted into the Legion of Honor. Missing at this ceremony is none other but Emile Zola, who tragically passes away before even meeting Dreyfus, due to a carbon monoxide leak in his home from a faulty furnace. The final scene is Zola's funeral, where his oldest friend, Paul Cezanne gives a breathtaking eulogy, one fit for a legend.

What I liked:

Paul Muni! I had never heard of him before, she said ignorantly. I thought he did a wonderful job of playing the title role and giving him a complex superobjective. Muni was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role but did not win. (For those interested, Muni lost to Spencer Tracy this year, for his work in Captains Courageous.) Joseph Schildkraut, however, did win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, which I think is well-deserved; a man forced into silence can sure say a mouthful.

Though I wish this part was longer, I liked the origin story element of the film as well. I liked the people he met that inspired him, especially the woman who inspired his novel Nana. 

I liked the subtle foreshadowing throughout the film of Zola needing to keep warm and protect his health. I thought it was used intelligently and with enough irony at times to lead the audience in a few different directions. 

What I disliked:

I'll leave it at this: I thought the film would be more about Emile Zola. In my opinion, it was more about the LIFETIME of Emile Zola than the actual LIFE of Emile Zola. Although still very clearly the protagonist, he seemed to me to be more of a character in the story than the subject. 

The statement after the title card about this movie being loosely based on real events but being a work of fiction to fit a narrative acted as a distancing device that I don't think was entirely necessary. The Dreyfus affair actually happened; Cezanne was a real person who was really his friend; he actually wrote these books. For me, since I wasn't as familiar with Zola's life, it acted as more of a distraction; I didn't know what I should have believed and what I shouldn't have. I didn't know what was fiction and what was historically accurate. I assume in biopics these days that the artistic license and embellishing of events is implied and doesn't need to be explicitly stated like it was at the beginning of this film.

What surprised me:

I truly wasn't expecting the writing to be as good as it was. Due to being as surprised by the plot as I was, I had trouble focusing on anything except for how different the film was from my expectations. Then I started to listen to the words and how truly beautiful the dialogue and speeches actually were. There was some truly beautiful language in there. More on this below.

Why I think it won Best Picture:

I'm going to say that Diction won this movie Best Picture, but that's only in keeping with Aristotle's six elements. Diction can be defined in a bunch of different ways, but it basically boils down to how the characters use words to achieve their objectives or tell their own stories. What I really think won The Life of Emile Zola Best Picture was the writing. Diction can fall under this umbrella, but I think this film has more than just Diction on its side. Some of the writing in this film is unlike any writing I've ever heard before. It was heightened while still providing a strong story rooted in reality, and the characters were clear and distinct and unique due to the way they each spoke. There are two moments in particular that engaged my full attention: the scene in which Zola addresses the jury at his trial, and the eulogy at the end of the movie. I happened to find a transcript online that I will link here and also copy and paste:

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechlifeofemilezola3.html

"Cezanne: Let us not mourn him. Let us rather salute that bright spirit of his which will live forever, and like a torch, enlighten a younger generation inspired to follow him.

You who are enjoying today's freedom, take to your hearts the words of Zola. Do not forget those who fought the battles for you and bought your liberty with their genius and their blood. Do not forget them and applaud the lies of fanatical intolerance.

Be human. For no man in all the breadth of our land more fervently loved humanity than Zola.

He had the simplicity of a great soul.

He was enjoying the fruits of his labor -- fame, wealth, security -- when suddenly, out of his own free will, he tore himself from all the peaceful pleasures of his life, from the work he loved so much because he knew that their is no serenity, save in justice; no repose -- save in truth.

At the sound of his brave words, France wakened from her sleep. How admirable is the genius of our country. How beautiful the soul of France which for centuries taught right and justice to Europe and the world.

France is once again today the land of reason and benevolence because one of her sons, through an immense work and a great action, gave rise to a new order of things based on justice and the rights common to all men.

Let us not pity him because he suffered and endured. Let us envy him. Let us envy him because his great heart won him the proudest of destinies: He was a moment of the conscience of man."

Like, are you kidding me with that?

Final thoughts:

Listen. This movie was fine. The trailer featured a couple reviews of the film that had some pretty big words attached to it, like "one of the truly great pictures of all time," "the screen's most memorable accomplishment from Warner Brothers," and "triumph," so, naturally, that's what I was expecting. Maybe I was just so thrown off by how the plot was so not what I was expecting that it took me too long to get back on track and enjoy the film for what it had to offer, but I wasn't completely blown away. I didn't hate it, but I was definitely expecting a different movie than the movie I got. And that's not a bad thing.

My current ranking:

1. Mutiny on the Bounty

2. Grand Hotel

3. Wings

4. All Quiet on the Western Front

5. The Life of Emile Zola

6. It Happened One Night

7. The Broadway Melody

8. Cavalcade

9. The Great Ziegfeld

10. Cimarron

Number eleven is You Can't Take It With You. (Got this on DVD for my birthday this year - thanks, Mom!)