The film is directed by the documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, who came into contact with this case by chance and became interested. It took him two and a half years to read the court records and evidence, and found the lawyers, policemen and judges of the year, trying to restore the truth of the year, and successfully overturned the case. This documentary has undoubtedly slapped the American judicial system. Its practical significance and its influence surpass the film itself.
The film uses the method of event reproduction to reproduce a police shooting case in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1976. On November 29, 1976, in the middle of the night in Dallas, the United States, police officer Robert and his colleagues were shot and killed when they got out of the car to check a strange blue car. Police have identified two suspects: David, 16, and Landau, 28. Including 16-year-old David, a couple who happened to pass by and a colleague of the police officer who was killed that night unanimously named the innocent Landau as the murderer. After nearly ten years in prison, Landau was overturned because of this documentary.
Through Landau's remarks, we can see the whole process of an ordinary person being made into a murderer. For example, soft torture to extract a confession, not letting Landau contact a lawyer, and not letting him sleep. For example, to induce a confession, the police took a pistol of unknown origin, forced Landau to print his fingerprints, and threatened: If he did not cooperate, he would not survive tonight; even, Landau was forced to listen to terrorist broadcasts 20 times a day. The real murderer David, although he has a criminal record of theft, robbery, burglary, and rape, has shown great remorse and has a "minor" exemption gold medal. Therefore, he has never been identified as the first suspect by the police. people.
First of all, the judge is sloppy and only speaks official words, complicated interpersonal relationships and interest considerations, as well as political correctness and policy needs. The entire judicial system's deviation in fact-finding has produced "murderers who meet the needs of the public." Second, many people wronged in the United States are at the bottom of society, including blacks and other people of color, and there is prejudice against them by public opinion and law enforcement agencies. It can be said that this kind of thing happens every day in the United States. For example, the recent "Floyd incident" that caused riots in the United States reflects a series of corruption problems in the American judicial system.
Compared to the same genre, this movie is not outstanding. No narration, lack of commentary, and a chaotic timeline... No one would have imagined that such a documentary, which had no dramatic conflict and was only based on facts, would actually help a suspect who had been in prison for 10 years to overturn the case. The most ironic aspects of this film are that the thin blue line is said proudly by the judge who misjudged, and at the end of the interview, David suddenly said: The case of killing the police, in fact, was done by me of…
"Were you surprised that the police blamed him?"
"They didn't blame him, I did. Scared 16-year-old kid"
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