ADVOCATE
Canada/Switzerland/Israel, 2019, 108 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Philippe Bellaiche, Rachel Leah Jones.
This documentary, Advocate, is a portrait of Israeli lawyer, Lea Tsemel, still working as an advocate but defence counsel for Palestinians. While she is a strong-minded and powerfully expressive advocate, she does not always win, but makes strong stances for justice.
We initially see her active in the present, taking on the cases of Palestinians, especially in the aftermath of two boys, letting loose, shooting at an Israeli bus and its passengers. One of the boys is shot, the younger arrested and treated harshly by the police, especially in demanding interrogations.
Initially, the information about the case is not clear, especially the ages of the two boys, whether they had guns, whether they intended to kill, how they should be interrogated, how the case would come to court. Lea Tsemel and her staff, in collaboration with a Palestinian advocate, spent a great deal of time researching the case, examining the arguments, making a plea for more humane treatment.
At the same time, she takes up the case of a woman who is accused of sedition because she had invoked the name of Allah.
Audience sympathy is evoked for the two accused – and, especially, since each was found guilty.
The film outlines her biography, her reaction as a student and fighter in the Six Day War, a change of consciousness, challenges, imprisonment, a supportive husband and children, her husband having gone to jail in the past, sympathetic interviews with him as well as with her children. The film incorporates quite a deal of historical footage of the history of Israel, the wars, social upheaval in Israel over the decades as well as details of Lea Tsemel herself.
There are a lot of visuals of the legal profession, judges, lawyers, prosecutors. And there are a lot of visuals of ultra-patriotic Israelis declaring their stances, attacking Arabs, the Palestinians.
Interestingly, this documentary won the prize in 2019 at the Doc Aviv Festival.
