Unlike the many film stars and influential people who had their careers ruined over cases of sexual harrassment, rape and abuse, in the
wake of metoo movement, the case against Gérard Depardieu didn't hit with the same intensity overseas, or at least a portion of the crowd (and
media) didn't make huge waves as the ones from 2017. I don't recall anything similar, and only got word on it through social media quite recently
and that's how I got word of this TV special, which shows the impact those accusations had on French society and French cinema. And like the stories
we heard from Hollywood, the crowd was shocked.
It's such a drastic and revolting case that this film's title throws the man under the bus without mercy: "The Fall of an Ogre". It presents
the account of many women who survived or dealt with Dépardieu's attacks on film sets, and the filmmakers also uncover the making of a documentary
that followed the actor while visiting North Korea where his remarks on young women are outrageous and shocking, which all prove his wrong conducts,
far off than just being locker room talk. Those bits of the star of "Cyrano" do not make him look good in no possible manner.
However, this isn't just a one-sided piece. It follows those who dealt with him on meetings, film shootings where awkward moments and improper
touching happened, but also shows collaborators and directors who believe in the man's innocence, who think there's a plot to destroy his career,
and those moments can revolt viewers very easily since none of those people believe a talented and famous actor could commit such acts. But we know
how fame and power twist some views.
And if the most recent cases don't hit hard, even when turned into law procedures, the rediscover of an old Dépardieu's interview talking about
his troubled childhood and acts with young women, talking to an
American newspaper, sheds some disturbing light, and that piece is detailed in a curious manner. It's like no one cared back then - late 1970's
and right after Polanski's case - and his career only grew, conquering Hollywood and winning multiple awards. Some will try to put the blame on
the journalist and his bad translation, but that'd be completely unethical and the actor said what he said.
But whatever the case and pending situations, as the documentary shows, he still has a career and on the year that charges came along
he had several releases, a few dropouts of projects and a chaotic division on French cinema as to support him or to ignore him. We in the audience
can only look at what's presented here and find if there's good reasoning behind everything, or it's a wild case that proves nothing. It's a quite
comprehensive and detailed look on everything related with the matter, with many outrageous stories and moments. To whatever side you may take, what's
certain is that you won't look at Gérard Depardieu in the same way again. 8/10.
