Saint Omer is ostensibly a courtroom drama but it's more than that. A Senegalese woman named Laurence Coly stands accused of infanticide for leaving her 15 month-old daughter on a beach to be swept away by the tide. Observing the trial is Rama, herself the daughter of a Senegalese immigrants who is also pregnant.
No doubt there was some material that went over my head that director Alice Diop intended as commentary on contemporary French society. Regardless, she has created an enigmatic defendant that entranced and confused this viewer equally.
Laurence Coly is not a poorly educated person flailing away in incomprehension of her new home. She is well-educated and very well spoken. While she seems thoroughly Western or perhaps French, she also invokes witchcraft. While the white judges seek rational order and to make sense of the defendant's motives, Laurence herself dwells in the dark, mysterious corners of human passions. Her testimony leads to dead ends instead of illuminating clear cause and effect relationships.
Laurence's predicament greatly affected Rama. Just as the former was alone on the stand, the latter was alone in her hotel room. Rama just seemed to be thrown into an emotional milieu beyond her control. The movie didn't seem to home in on anything in particular that was especially potent for Rama. It was a whole scenario.
The defense lawyer ends the movie with her closing statement that she makes looking directly into the camera. It is a very moving testament to our common humanity and to the power of empathy. Very powerful stuff.
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