Paul van der Oster's "Angel of Murder" (2015), represented the Netherlands in the 2015 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
The film is based on a sensational true event in the Netherlands, in which female nurse Lucia was sentenced to life in prison by a court in The Hague after she was accused of murdering seven patients and attempting to murder three others between 1997 and 2001. After eight years, the nurse overturned the charges against him, making the case one of the worst wrongful convictions in Dutch judicial history.
In addition to the heroine Lucia, there are three key characters in "Angel of Killing", one is the prosecutor Mrs. Johnson, the second is assistant prosecutor Judith Jensen, and the third is the director of Westland Children's Hospital Van Hosbro gram, forming an "iron triangle" of plot reversal. On the evening of September 8, 2001, 46-year-old Lucia was taking care of baby boy Timo who had undergone heart surgery 6 months ago. When something happened, the female doctor Kobe came in a hurry and the diagnosis was stable. The death at the hands of Lucia shocked the hospital, and the test showed that the drug digoxin had caused the death.
Dean Fan asked Lucia to go home to rest. At the ensuing investigation meeting, the nurses and doctors fired at Lucia, saying that she was maverick, arrogant, and eccentric. She never sat with us, seemed to think she was great, and kept telling us to do this and that, And she also went out to sell, she said it herself...
President Fan explained to the prosecution that, after investigation, during her work in the geriatrics department of Tessa Hospital, where she worked before, Lucia alone handled 17 rescues and deaths, and in our hospital, she died at the hands of her. Of the three children, two were cremated and the other was a Muslim who could not be exhumed after burial.
The dean said that this kind of thing is not accidental, because the chance of this kind of thing happening to a nurse is only 1 in 700 million. The deceased at both hospitals were elderly and children. Mrs. Johnson ordered the hospital not to disclose it to the outside world without sufficient evidence that Lucia did it. After being suspended from work, Lucia came home extremely depressed, and told her boyfriend Peter that I was really causing trouble, and it all happened to me. Her boyfriend reassured her not to think too much. Then she saw the TV news, and the dean even disclosed the matter to the press privately, which surprised her, and the prosecution, Mrs. Johnson, felt helpless.
In the subsequent search operation of the house, Judith saw various death-related books and diaries placed in Lucia's house, which made people feel that she was indeed related to these deaths. All kinds of weird behaviors made Judith more convinced that Lucia was the unquestionable "murderer". At this time, the prosecution had to face the surging public opinion, but also had to check the facts to determine Lucia's guilt.
In fact, from the end of 2001 when Lucia was detained by the police until February 10, 2002, the court ruled that she was involved in 7 murder cases and 5 attempted murder cases. According to this, the court sentenced Lucia to life imprisonment and compulsory supervision. Afterwards, Lucia embarked on a long appeal through lawyer Theo and new lawyer Quinn. The film is impressive for its new lawyer, Quinn, who relentlessly defends Lucia by getting justice.
The real case is actually thanks to the philosopher Tone Dirksen, who specializes in the possibility of wrongdoing by the Ministry of Justice. He has always been skeptical about this case. After 2006, he joined the doctor Metde Nuo-de Kesen, from these cases found one error after another, which played a key role in turning the case around. The film concentrates these images on Judith, a young and beautiful assistant prosecutor, which makes the film more suspenseful, entertaining and attractive.
In the film, Judith insisted on bringing Lucia to justice from the very beginning. After the verdict, she calmed down and found that the court had no real evidence for her verdict, but only based on analysis, reasoning and assumptions, which led her to investigate quietly. Fortunately, a conscientious female nurse in the hospital told her in private that Lucia was actually a good person. Because of her unfortunate childhood experiences, she was particularly concerned about these babies with various congenital diseases. She was not gregarious and attracted jealousy. Especially since the hospital is being merged, they all want to put this responsibility on her alone, and the female doctor Kobe has depression and has asked for leave at home.
This surprised Judith. It turned out to be the sacrifice of a Lucia for everyone's safety. Judith blamed herself very much, and it was because of me that Lucia went to jail. With guilt, she immediately went back to report to Mrs. Johnson, but the answer was that the case had been concluded, so she should stop meddling, otherwise she would be suspended. Judith did not flinch, but still got the inspection report of the actual death of baby Timo, not a drug fatal, but a natural death. And when the other baby died, Lucia had gone home from get off work and had nothing to do with her.
The prosecutor asked the hospital director Fan for the unnatural death file of the patient, but was declined. As for saying that Lucia had taken out delivery, this is completely fabricated by the opponent, but because she had an unfortunate childhood, was abandoned by her mother, and was raped by her mother's boyfriend. Such misfortune was described by the nurse as a "Selling", combined with its various types, means that she is a pervert.
When Judith told the skeptical Lucia, of course she couldn't help but be delighted. There was hope in the subsequent court hearing on June 4, 2004. However, in the court ruling on June 18, 2004, the female judge said, "You killed the unsuspecting innocent victim in a very subtle way, leaving no trace, and sentenced to life imprisonment (of course)". The quiet Lucia finally broke out at this time, and she shouted "I didn't do it! I didn't do it!".
But to no avail. Afterwards, Lucia went through several years of misery, hopeless and disheartened. Judith finds her boyfriend Peter and daughter to try to comfort her. On April 14, 2010, with the efforts of all parties, it was verified that each death case had no definite evidence that Lucia intentionally murdered and basically died of natural causes.
At this time, the Rotterdam court finally ruled that Lucia was acquitted. In November, she reached a compensation agreement with the Ministry of Justice for her detention for 6 and a half years. The Minister of Justice personally wrote her a letter of apology. On April 3, 2014, she watched the new film with the film's cast and crew. For those who single-handedly made her unjust case, she did not pursue it any further.
(The left is Lucia, the right is the actor)
The film reminds us of the road to rehabilitating several unjust cases in China over the years. It is easy to make a wrongful case, but it is almost impossible to rehabilitate it. The reason is that some people who handle it do not admit their mistakes. Of course, this involves their reputation and interests, and more importantly, it is the decadence and decline of the people of the world.
As far as Lucia's unjust case is concerned, stereotypes, stubbornness, and the marriage of the interests of everyone and the hospital have finally joined forces to push Lucia into an abyss of grievances. People are always wary of people who don't fit in with the group, and feel that they have an odd temperament. Once an incident occurs, the first person to think of is her. This kind of thinking makes the subsequent public opinion irreversible, and also makes Lucia the target of public criticism. Hard to argue.
In fact, all the murder facts pointed to Lucia are hypothetical, without any conclusive evidence, and the objects of her care are either elderly people on the verge of death, or unhealthy babies suffering from various congenital diseases. If the prosecution and the court had calmed down a little, and after a careful and meticulous investigation, the case would not have been so unresolved. In any such case, one just needs to regain reason and not be swayed by anger to get the truth out.
The hospital side of course strives for the interests of the department according to "reasons", and does not want to see Lucia's rehabilitating. The prosecution and the court both want to make a mistake because the case has been determined, do not want to correct it, or lack the conscience to correct it. , which is the key. The intersection of false and real "interests" in all aspects has led to the deposition of this uncomplicated case for nearly ten years.
Of course, if this is compared with some cases in China, it is simply a piece of cake, at least the Lucia people are still there. There is hope for someone. She was released and later married Peter, and her daughter Fabien also married and had children. She now lives a peaceful and happy life. The film also attracted the attention of domestic media at the time because of the death of an elderly Chinese in the case of Lucia.
The film generally tends to be cool in tone. In the construction of multiple emotions, there is a huge psychological gap between its origins and transitions. It is heart-wrenching over and over again. In the end, the protagonist still sees a light in the dark night. For the cross performance of these key characters, the film has simplified the complicated and simplified, which can be said to be eclectic. In addition, the narrative of the film is extremely full and powerful. When it comes to portraying the real character of Lucia, it is rarely seen that she is hysterical, but more of a calm appearance, secret tears and sadness in private, which is infectious, which is very difficult.
The success of the film has given us at least two inspirations. One is how to shoot real characters, whether to copy the real situation or to combine the virtual and the real. This is a very difficult issue. Besides, the choice of subject matter is also important. Fortunately, there is no censorship system in the Netherlands, and the director is relatively handy in filming, and there is basically no restricted area. It is rare to see such a high standard and quality of films made with real themes. The second is the case itself, which always revolves around truth and falsehood, how credible the case is, and whether the chain of evidence has been verified. Compared with creating a grievance at random, it is much more difficult to vindicate an unjust case. This requires upholding justice, law and truth, and requires a lot of investigation and courage. Of course, it is more of a human world. conscience.
2017、5、2
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