The Return of Martin Guerre is a 1982 French historical drama directed by Daniel Vigne and staring Gerard Depardieu. The film describes the historical case of Martin Guerre who leaves his young wife Bertrande (Nathalie Baye) in the small French village of Artigat to fight in a war and travel. Around eight years later, the false Martin (played by Depardieu) returns to the village to resume his life. The false Martin (whose real name is Arnaud du Tilh) persuades the people in the village that he is in fact Martin Guerre. This includes Bertrande, who goes on to have two children with the false Martin and who seems happy to finally have a husband who loves her, as opposed to the real Martin, with whom she was trapped in an arranged and loveless marriage. But when the imposter Martin presses his uncle for the money he is owed for his land, the uncle denounces him as a fraud. An investigation and trial follow to determine if the Depardieu character is the real Martin. The imposter Martin is on the verge of winning until the real Martin shows up at the last minute, exposing the imposter Martin, who then confesses. The imposter (i.e., Arnaud) is then led to the gallows and hanged, and the real Martin resumes his place in the village.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

2:56 Teaching comparative law through film

4:18 A quick primer on French legal history

7:33 Jean de Coras and the Parliament of Toulouse

11:28 How the false Martin Guerre becomes Martin Guerre

16:12 The allegations against Martin and Bertrande

21:01 The trial of Martin Guerre

25:16 How the false Martin almost pulls it off

27:26 The execution

31:29 Religious conflict in 16th century Europe

34:59 The difficulty of proving identity at the time

Further reading:

Bienen, Leigh Buchanan, Book Review, “The Law as Storyteller,” 98 Harv. L. Rev. 494 (1984)

Davis, Natalie Zemon, The Return of Martin Guerre (1983)

Dellapenna, Joseph, “Peasants, Tanners, and Psychiatrists: Using Films to Teach Comparative Law,” 36 (1) Int’l J. Legal Information 156 (2008)

Finlay, Robert, “The Refashioning of Martin Guerre,” 93(3) Am. Hist. Rev. 553 (1988)

Hall, Phyllis A., “Teaching Analytical Thinking through the AHR Forum and ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’” Perspectives on History (Jan. 1, 1990)

Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember.
For more information about Jonathan, here's a link to his bio: https://law.shu.edu/profiles/hafetzjo.html
You can contact him at jonathanhafetz@gmail.com
You can follow him on X (Twitter) @jonathanhafetz
You can follow the podcast on X (Twitter) @LawOnFilm
You can follow the podcast on Instagram @lawonfilmpodcast

This episode examines The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1970 political drama set in 1930s Italy. The film centers on Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a mid-level Fascist functionary who is ordered to assassinate his former professor, an anti-fascist dissident living in Paris. The film, which includes many flashbacks to Clerici’s early life and decision to join the secret police, provides powerful and chilling insights into the psychology of conformism and fascism The film, widely considered one of the greatest ever made, not only features outstanding performances but also superb production design (Fernando Scarfiotti) and cinematography (Vittorio Storaro) that helps capture Italy under Mussolini. The film is as timely today as it was when it was released, as the world witnesses a resurgence of authoritarianism in the United States and Europe.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

3:45 Fascist Italy under Mussolini

7:58 Why Clerici joins the fascists

12:39 Repression of sexual orientation and the desire to belong

14:10 Why people are vulnerable to fascism

18:56 Manganiello and the fascist enforcer

23:43 Perspectives on normalcy and the scenes in Paris

31:56 How the film speaks to the Trump era

36:40 Architecture in Mussolini’s Italy

39:08 The murder of Quadri and Anna

44:39 After Mussolini falls

50:30 The lack of consequences for going along with fascism

56:04 The Holocaust in Mussolini’s Italy

Further reading:

Bosworth, R.J.B., Mussolini’s Italy: Life under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915-1945 (2006)

Elbiri, Bilge, “It’s Time to See ‘The Conformist’ Again,” Vulture (Jan. 14, 2023)

Huq, Aziz, "America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State," The Atlantic (Mar. 23. 2025)

Kael, Pauline, “‘The Conformist’: The Poetry of Images,” New Yorker (Mar. 27, 1971)

Moravia, Alberto, The Conformist (1951)

Musil, Robert, The Man Without Qualities (1930-43)

Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember.
For more information about Jonathan, here's a link to his bio: https://law.shu.edu/profiles/hafetzjo.html
You can contact him at jonathanhafetz@gmail.com
You can follow him on X (Twitter) @jonathanhafetz
You can follow the podcast on X (Twitter) @LawOnFilm
You can follow the podcast on Instagram @lawonfilmpodcast

Dark Waters (2019), directed by Todd Haynes, tells the real-life story of how a lawyer, Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), waged a twenty-year battle to hold the DuPont corporation accountable for contaminating a local water supply with carcinogenic chemicals that poisoned tens of thousands of people. While Bilott is ultimately able to achieve some degree of compensation and justice for the victims, the film shows the challenges of litigating against a powerful company bent on denying responsibility and covering up its misconduct.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

2:35 The origins: a small case for a family friend back home

6:24 Teflon and the “miracle” chemical

10:24 How attorney Rob Bilott uncovers the pollution

13:49 Getting the Taft firm on board

21:50 Addressing the legal challenges in the case

24:30 Medical monitoring and causation in toxic tort cases

28:36 Divisions in the community, financial pressures, and client management

30:30 DuPont’s clout

35:14 Bellwether trials: trying the cases in court

39:44 What the litigation achieved and the continued challenges

46:27 The risks of “forever chemicals”

49:50 Developments since the film was released

55:43 Can the legal system deliver justice?

1:01:53 Some further developments

Further reading:

Bilott, Robert, Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont (Atria Books 2019)

Carucci, Rob, “Leadership Lessons from Rob Bilott’s 20 Year Battle for Justice Against DuPont,” Forbes (July 12, 2021)

Nevitt, Mark P. & Percival, Robert V., “Can Environmental Law Solve the ‘Forever Chemical’ Problem,” 57 Wake Forest L. Rev. 239 (2022)

Rich, Nathaniel, “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare,” N.Y. Times Magazine (Jan. 6, 2016)

Small, Sarah Chen, Note, “Toxic Film: Analyzing the Impact of Films Depicting Major Contamination Events on the Regulation of Toxic Chemicals,” 35 Georgetown Env. L. Rev. 561 (2023)

Tabuchi, Hiroko, “Trump Administration to Uphold Some PFAS Limits but Eliminate Others,” N.Y. Times (May 14, 2025)

Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember.
For more information about Jonathan, here's a link to his bio: https://law.shu.edu/profiles/hafetzjo.html
You can contact him at jonathanhafetz@gmail.com
You can follow him on X (Twitter) @jonathanhafetz
You can follow the podcast on X (Twitter) @LawOnFilm
You can follow the podcast on Instagram @lawonfilmpodcast