Slideshow
AN OFFICER AND A SPY
Opens Friday, August 8
TWO WEEK LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
DIRECTED BY ROMAN POLANSKI
SCREENPLAY BY ROBERT HARRIS & ROMAN POLANSKI
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. Paris, 1895: Jewish Army Captain Alfred Dreyfus (Louis Garrel) is ceremoniously stripped of his status and sentenced to life on a penal colony for passing secrets to Germany. Officer George Picquart (Jean Dujardin), appointed head of military counter-intelligence, discovers that the Germans continue to receive secrets, and that a mole is still at large. Polanski and Harris (Conclave) – who also collaborated on THE GHOST WRITER – forge a historical thriller from deeply researched details of the Dreyfus Affair, a scandal that divided French society for 12 years and remains a monumental case of institutional injustice and antisemitism.
Presented with support from the Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film and The Joan S. Constantiner Fund for Jewish and Holocaust Films
2019 132 MIN. FRANCE / ITALY IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
PROGRAMMING NOTE: AN OFFICER AND A SPY premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and subsequently opened theatrically in Europe, Mexico, and Russia. This is its first screening and theatrical run in the U.S. We recognize that, in light of Roman Polanski’s sexual assault case and allegations, the showing of this film may generate strong reactions. We respect our audience's diverging opinions, and we acknowledge the complicated debate surrounding the presentation of work by artists with controversial or problematic histories.
We also feel that this film is a well-crafted, dramatic depiction of the Dreyfus Affair — a landmark case of institutional corruption, antisemitism, and resistance to both, and a timely reminder of the perils of being a whistleblower. It is thus an important contribution to cinema’s crucial role in historical storytelling. We have programmed the film in keeping with our commitment to presenting compelling world cinema to NYC audiences.
Reviews
“Effortlessly absorbing…With its proliferation of intercepted documents and carefully scrutinized handwriting samples, it opens an engrossing window on the top-secret workings of 19th century French intelligence. Polanski, who wrote the script with Robert Harris (the writer of the novel on which it’s based), distills a complicated chain of evidence into a succession of highly incisive, disciplined scenes, superbly acted by an ensemble that includes Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud, Grégory Gadebois and Emmanuelle Seigner. All of them, like Polanski, have scaled their talents to the material with classical precision and intelligence.”
– Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
★★★★★ “A gripping, brainy historical thriller… An immaculate piece of period storytelling.... Each frame is filled with painterly detail; each performance is distinctive.”
– Phil de Semlyn, Time Out
“Perfectly composed and gorgeously mounted, it is a masterful compression of the serpentine intricacies of the Dreyfus story; no other version hews so faithfully to the facts of the case and communicates the details so lucidly and comprehensively.”
– Thomas Doherty, Cineaste
“A masterly period drama — Polanski’s best work since THE PIANIST.”
– Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune