Color of Justice

“A harmful truth is better than a useful lie” – Thomas Mann

The famous quote of Thomas Mann sometimes applied inversely in the judicial system all over the world. We have the case of Julian Assange prosecution which seems to be a vengeful case for leaking the World Leader’s Secrets, Binayak Sen case etc. Most of the time the arrest, prosecution and punishment will be made unquestionable in name of race, religion, and ethnicity and above all nation’s security.  “Omar killed me” is a movie which deals with such a case in France. 

Omar Rabbad

On Feb 2, 1994 Marseille Court gives a verdict of 18 years imprisonment for Omar Raddad in the killing of Marchal. Omar Raddad is a second generation Moroccan migrant in France who works as a gardener with a widow Marchal. 

24 June 1991, Omar gambles and losses his money and comes back home while he is spending time there, Police arrive and arrest him for the Murder. In the Police Station he was being asked the reason for killing and they go reiterating that he killed Marchal as he lost money in gambling, entered into a verbal altercation with her which resulted in the Murder. “Omar has kill me” written with blood in the door was shown as the evidence and proof for his involvement. 

Most part of the movie is confined between these two days in the life of Omar Raddad. While getting arrested he doesn’t know French well and he is an illiterate, He has the problem in understanding what has been said to him by the Police Officials. 

The jail days seem very hard for Omar to pass and out of desperation he tries to commit suicide with his clothes. This result in him left naked in the cold, cry for protection ends in no avail. After the judgment pronounced, Journalist Pierre Emmanuel Vaugrenard seeing the absurdity of the trail and prosecution enters into investigating the case. He founds it contradictory for a woman (Marchal) who named her house after Carl Sagan and wrote something which had a grammatical error.

These efforts were aided by his publisher who sees an opportunity in selling the book in the name of protecting a Muslim. The case reopened for further investigation but proceed nowhere. All the while Omar pronounces himself innocent and calls Marchal as his mother.

In 1998, after the agreement between Jacques Chirac and Moroccan King Hassan II Omar gets freedom but not acquitted of the crime. Till now Omar fights for his acquittal, picture of real Omar Raddad flashes on the screen and movie ends.

This movie also symbolizes the co-functioning of all the pillars of a democracy under the influence of populist notions. In one of the scene Omar’s friend will read out a report from a Newspaper which mentions that confession of is he killed Marchal for money as he used to visit prostitutes frequently. 

The Screenplay juggles between the past and the present life of Omar. This non-linear narration of the story gives the tempo to carry the audience with it.

After the ending, we have to answer the questions: Is everyone equal in front of the law? Is Judiciary free of prejudices?