Patric Jean • Director
"This is militant cinema"
- Immigration, crime & violence in La raison du plus fort, the latest doc in the Gallic filmmaker's ongoing battle against social iniquity and for a free and fair society
One of the European filmmakers whose work was selected for the French Documentary section is Patric Jean. The film is entitled La raison du plus fort.
The common denominator of Jean’s films is his awareness of social iniquities that are the result of Europe’s financial and judicial systems. Set in France and Belgium, this film portrays a reality that many would prefer remained invisible. We met with Jean to talk about this documentary.
What caused you to make films about issues like immigration, racism and crime?
"I employ a decidedly militant filmmaking style and one of my key objectives is portraying the social injustice and its consequences. Immigration, crime and racism are the by-products of the political, economic and legal system that dominates the western hemisphere and not only Belgium and France.
With regards to La raison du plus fort, everything began when I read a report published by the French justice ministry that linked immigration to crime. I dedided to investigate the reasons for this; why certain events happen and why French and indeed the whole world’s courts of law have produced a growing trend of iniquity and disparity. I must point out that the protagonists of my documentary are not really immigrants but the first generation of immigrants to be born in France and therefore French citizens through and through. However, these people continue to be discriminated against.”
How much time did you spend in pre-production?
"I spent two years researching: reading books about sociology and visiting places to get firsthand experience. During this extenuating preparatory phase, my one aim was to understand and not to find situations to film. It was only later that I began filming. The production process took 14 weeks. Everything went smoothly. Given that I had a lot of time at my disposal, I was able to wait for the right moment to shoot the most meaningful situations. For example, the moment when a prisoner attempts suicide in a prison. There I think that I managed to balance respect and compassion but I decided to shoot that sequence in order to show the unfairness and drama of life behind bars.”
Given the delicate nature of your subject matter, what kind of problems did you experience?
"Making a documentary such as this is no easy thing. If one examines Philibert and his Etre et Avoir, one sees that that film was much easier in every respect. His film has positive content. My film portrays a reality that many people would prefer was kept at a distance, or ignored. Whatever the situation, my film was aired on Arte and generally speaking, there are spaces where I can express myself freely. My general impression following this experience is that cracks exist in the prevailing system. We must not think that political, financial and judicial power are monoliths. Our courts of law and jails are full of people who want to fight the system from the inside. And it is thanks to people like them that I was able to make this documentary because I was allowed to enter places that would otherwise appear impenetrable.”
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