Justice (1993 film)


Justice is a 1993 German-language film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer. It was an international co-production between Germany and Switzerland. Based on the 1985 novel The Execution of Justice by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the film was chosen as Germany's List of [German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|official submission] to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but did not manage to receive a nomination.

Plot

Isaak Kohler coolly walked up to a man everyone assumed was his friend and shot him dead. This took place in front of dozens of witnesses in a busy restaurant, and there was no question about his guilt. What he never revealed was his motive. He has been in prison serving a twenty-year sentence ever since. Perhaps in order to ease his daughter's pain about the incident, he has hired a legal representative to arrange for him to receive a retrial. He is still unforthcoming about his reasons for committing the crime, and invites the struggling lawyer to make something up. This crime and courtroom drama is based on a novel by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, whose works are highly respected within the German-speaking intellectual community but whose appeal has proved difficult to translate.

Cast