suraines22 Review of The Judge and the Assassin

The Judge and the Assassin (1976)

Overly ambitious investigating judge gets his man

[8/10 · 3 March 2019]

The story, set in the 1890s, is about investigating judge Rousseau (played by Philippe Noiret) who is determined to obtain a confession from a drifter named Bouvier who has raped and killed two dozen children in the countryside of France. The character Bouvier is closely based upon real-life French serial killer Joseph Vacher (vacher and bouvier both mean herdsman in French). Most French films depict the investigating judge as independent and ethical, but this film depicts an overly ambitious judge who believes that it will help his career if he can get Bouvier to confess to the crimes and have him punished by execution. Bouvier is clearly mad, but if he is declared insane, he will not be executed, and Rousseau will not get the recognition he seeks. To deal with the question of whether Bouvier is insane, Rousseau selects the doctor who will examine him, which is the prerogative of the investigating judge in France. Rousseau is with his mother and his attorney friend Villedieu when he receives the doctor's report that Bouvier is sane. Rousseau is ecstatic, but Villedieu cynically remarks: "The servility of the medical corps never fails to astonish me. Sometimes it's embarrassing." When Rousseau's bed-ridden mother scolds him for neglecting his duty to take the statements of witnesses, Rousseau responds: "What is more idiotic than a witness? I wouldn't believe them anyway. I want him to confess." Rousseau's first breakthrough comes when he tricks the mad-yet-clever Bouvier into describing on a wall map his route through France. With a piece of chalk, Bouvier traces his route from north to south, passing through the very places where the rapes and murders took place. Rousseau confronts him, and Bouvier promises to write a confession, which he eventually does. Although not depicted in the film, the real-life murderer, Vacher, was found to be sane by the criminal court (cour d'assises) of Ain, and he was sentenced to death. The real-life Vacher was executed by guillotine on December 31, 1898.