The Life of Emile Zola Page #8

In other words...

...you are being instructed,

by order, to condemn me...

...just as, in that other case...

...the minister of war

dictated the acquittal of Esterhazy.

Down with Zola!

The prime minister gave

no such order to this jury.

His words made his intention

to coerce justice unmistakable.

And I denounce them

to the conscience of honest men.

Confine yourself to the facts.

However...

...my profession is writing,

not talking.

But from my struggling youth

until today...

...my principal aim

has been to strive for truth.

That is why I entered this fight.

All my friends have told me that it

was insane for a single person...

...to oppose the immense machinery

of the law...

...the glory of the army

and the power of the state.

They warned me that my actions

would be mercilessly crushed...

...that I would be destroyed.

But what does it matter

if an individual is shattered...

...if only justice is resurrected?

It has been said that the state

summoned me to this court.

That is not true.

I am here because I wished it.

I alone have chosen you as my judges.

I alone decided that this abominable

affair should see the light...

...so that France might at last know all

and voice her opinion.

My act has no other object.

My person is of no account.

I'm satisfied.

But my confidence in you

was not shared by the state.

They did not dare say all

about the whole undividable affair...

...and submit it to your verdict.

That is no fault of mine.

You saw for yourselves how my defense

was incessantly silenced.

Gentlemen, I know you.

You are the heart,

the intellect of my beloved Paris...

...where I was born

and which I've studied for 40 years.

I see you with your families

under the evening lamp.

I accompany you into your factories,

your shops.

You're all workers and righteous men.

You will not say, like many:

"What does it matter if an innocent man

is undergoing torture on Devil's Island?

Is the suffering of one obscure person

worth the disturbance of a great country?"

Perhaps, though, you've been told

that by punishing me...

...you will stop a campaign

that is injurious to France.

Gentlemen, if that is your idea...

...you are mistaken.

Look at me.

Have I the look of a hireling?

A liar? A traitor?

I'm only a free writer

who has given his life to work...

...and who will resume it tomorrow.

And I am not here defending myself.

Tremendous pressure

has been put upon you.

"Save the army.

Convict Zola and save France."

I say to you, pick up that challenge!

Save the army and save France...

...but do it by letting truth conquer.

Not only is an innocent man

crying out for justice...

...but more. Much more.

A great nation is in desperate danger

of forfeiting her honor.

Do not take upon yourselves a fault...

...the burden of which

you will forever bear in history.

A judicial blunder has been committed!

The condemnation of an innocent man

induced the acquittal of a guilty man.

And now, today,

you're asked to condemn me...

...because I rebelled on seeing our country

embarked on this terrible course.

At this solemn moment,

in the presence of this tribunal...

...which is the representative

of human justice...

...before you gentlemen of the jury...

...before France,

before the whole world...

...I swear that Dreyfus is innocent.

By my 40 years of work,

by all that I have won...

...by all that I have written

to spread the spirit of France...

...I swear that Dreyfus is innocent.

May all that melt away.

May my name perish

if Dreyfus be not innocent.

He is innocent.

Down with Zola!

This is no punishment,

just a precaution.

Gentlemen, the court!

Emile Zola...

...the jury has found you guilty.

You are hereby sentenced

to one year's imprisonment...

...and 3000 francs' fine.

Cannibals.

Once before,

the centuries reversed a judgment.

That too was a closed case.

- Emile, you must leave France immediately.

- Leave France?

Yes. Go into hiding. England,

any place where they can't get at you.

Run away like a common criminal?

Do you know what you're saying?

You're out of your mind.

My husband couldn't do such a thing.

It's entirely unworthy of his character.

- What will people say?

- What would you expect them to say?

"Zola condemned, Zola in cowardly flight."

I'd be denounced by my friends

as well as my enemies.

It's true.

In prison, you'd be a martyr...

...an object of sympathy

for the entire world.

But helpless to do anything.

In London, you are all-powerful.

You can still fight for Dreyfus,

write smashing articles, pamphlets...

...keep on pricking at

the conscience of the world.

Emile, there are times when it is

more courageous to be cowardly.

Alexandrine...

...pack me a few warm things.

It must be cold in London.

Zola in England.

London police on the lookout.

Zola in England.

Here you are, governor. Thank you.

Zola in England.

London police on lookout.

Zola in England.

- Are you alone?

- Yes, go in.

- Well, what is it?

- Well, it's come.

- What?

- The new war minister has summoned me.

- You've been what?

- I'm on my way there now.

- Admit nothing.

- "Admit nothing."

With that cursed Zola still writing,

still stirring up trouble...

...the whole world screaming

for the truth...

...duels, newspapers...

...everyone at each other's throats.

You can't hold it off much longer.

You can't, I tell you.

You got me into this.

You've gotta stick by me.

Understand?

Do as I tell you. Admit nothing.

Then come back

and tell me what they say.

I'll be waiting for you.

I want the truth.

The whole truth, Colonel Henry.

Speak up!

But, Your Excellency,

the honor of the army...

I'll hear no more from you

about honor.

- You're a common forger.

- Your Excellency, I swear I'm not.

Show him the document that played such

an important part during the Zola trial.

Take it up. Take it up. Look at it.

Read it!

"Don't tell anyone...

...of your connection with the..."

I didn't write it!

I had nothing to do with it, I swear!

You're lying.

The secret agent who was your accomplice

confessed everything before killing himself.

I give you one last chance

to tell the truth.

Did you forge this letter?

Yes.

I did it for the army.

I did it for the honor of the army.

You're under arrest.

Captain Guignet,

have him taken to the prison.

- I want a signed confession.

- Not now, sir. I beg you.

Later, I'll tell everything.

I can't stand anything more now.

I want a signed confession.

Take him away.

Our army no longer has room

for men of your kind. Understand?

Yes, Your Excellency.

You'll be confined to barracks

until you leave. That's all.

I think you're making a grave mistake,

Your Excellency.

The army always has to consider the...

You'll have my resignation

in the morning.

Good morning, captain.

- How's Colonel Henry?

- He did nothing but scream all night.

Something about the honor of the army.

But he seems to be quiet now.

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