L'ombre du doute

A SHADOW OF DOUBT is a sensitive exploration of how society deals with incest. Despite the intensity of the subject matter, this psychological drama is remarkably restrained and the camera work by Darius Khondji produces an astonishingly beautiful piece of cinema. Alexandrine, aged 12, is a polite and timid child, and apparently the only witness to a crime she can hardly bring herself to describe. When she does, her accusation is denied by her father and undermined by her unsympathetic mother and her confidence shaken by the intolerable pressure of a legal system that does not believe in the word of children. Although this is a fictional account, it is based on Issermann’s research and has all the qualities of a true story as it deals with not only the child’s perception but also the thoughts of the mother, the father and the system.
Winner of two awards at the 1993 Venice Film Festival - the CIAK Awards for Best Film and Best Actress (for Sandrine Blancke). - www.roninfilms.com.au