This is another early Best Picture winner that passed like sand through my fingers. I watched it. I tried to pay attention. But it just couldn't keep me interested. Some of the blame has to go to the quality of the Netflix DVD I got for this movie*. These are not always great restorations. I doubt the studio who released it put painstaking effort into the digital transfer. So, the sound and picture were both pretty bad.
*Let me be super clear. I love the Netflix DVD service. I don't think the quality is their fault. I don't think there are good releases at all of many of the movies I get from them.
This ends up being another movie that I look at through the lens of WWII. This came out a couple years before the war began. Despite being about France, it doesn't hint much at what's to come. That's mostly because it's set in the 19th century, but you'd think a movie with such a social conscience would find a little more commentary to sneak in. The movie is OK. Paul Muni is pretty good as Emile Zola. It's got shades of the Mr. Smith Goes to Washington sentimentality that the 30s were big on.
Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend
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