Humans are often characterized as social beings, formulating their identities through relationships with those around them. Yet, there are times when we have to choose between maintaining the tranquility of these intimate relationships and seeking truth and justice. In the film The Collini Case, young lawyer, Caspar Leinen, finds himself trapped in such a predicament when he is appointed to defend the man who killed his own father figure. As Caspar uncovers the hidden guilts of his father figure, he is torn between protecting his personal life and fulfilling his duties as a just lawyer.

Released in 2019, The Collini Case is a German film that centers around a young and inexperienced lawyer, Caspar Leinen. In the absence of his father from a young age, Caspar becomes close with the wealthy Meyer family, befriending Philip and Johanna Meyer and discovering a father figure in their grandfather, Hans. Years later, however, Hans is found murdered in his suite and Caspar realizes too late that his first client as a state attorney, Fabrizio Collini, stands accused of the murder. With the case already placed in his hands, Caspar attempts to attain testimony from the stubbornly silent Collini, while struggling to maintain a harmonious relationship with the members of the Meyer family.

Plot Development Through Contrast

As a courthouse drama that reveals the entirety of the case one element at a time, The Collini Case relies on creating a suspenseful atmosphere throughout the movie. While the courtroom itself offers a contrasting atmosphere with bright lights and an abundance of court audiences, scenes in other locations, such as the detention cell, are accompanied by heavy music and limited lighting. Such a technique symbolizes the darker and heavier truth behind Collini’s murder of Hans, yet to be uncovered inside the courtroom.

The changing dynamics of Caspar’s relationships with the Meyer family and Collini are also emphasized by Marco Kreuzpaintner’s directing. The flashbacks of Caspar’s childhood with Hans are presented in an opaque and dream-like sequence, further showing how Caspar had idolized Hans like a father, particularly since his own father was absent for most of his life. Yet despite being an amateur lawyer, personally indebted to the victim, a short conversation with Collini allows Caspar to realize that Collini, like himself, had a relationship with his own father that influenced who he became. This similarity between the two characters helps Caspar maintain his professional demeanor as the lawyer of his idol’s killer, motivating him to defend his client against the relentless prosecution.

After the pivotal scene in which Caspar shares his understanding of Collini’s motive, Collini accepts a cigarette from Caspar, finally beginning to open up to the lawyer. The camera slowly zooms out with the men sitting silently across from each other at the table, holding their lit cigarettes. Although having believed that explaining his motive made no difference to his case, Collini finally accepts that the court is where the truth must be shared.

Stalemate: Caspar’s Dilemma and the Point of No Progress

Despite the best efforts, personal and professional lives can often collide, creating situations where a decision must be made between protecting personal ties or preserving professional ethics. In particular, because Caspar is a lawyer, failing to take responsibility for his work means failing the legal system that stands for justice. For Caspar himself, there is no easy way out of that collision of his personal and professional lives. As the situation becomes further complicated by Caspar’s relationship with Johanna Meyer, Caspar’s dedication to ethics as a lawyer and a friend are constantly challenged.

However, a stalemate situation applies to the film beyond Caspar’s own dilemma. Neither Collini nor the Meyers can actually benefit from the results of the trial — in addition to the death of Hans, the Meyers face a shameful revelation about Hans, and Collini admits he has nothing and no one left to live for. As the truth behind Collini’s motives for killing Hans slowly surfaces, Hans’ heartless past and Collini’s tragic losses prove that the harms of the past can never be undone. While justice may be achieved, the consequences of Hans’ and Collini’s actions have already come and passed.

Vergangenheitsbewältigung

The film takes a sharp turn when the murder trial becomes associated with war crimes. With the film being set at the turn of the millennium, the explosion of emotions and traumas that lasted over 50 years emphasizes the everlasting relationship between the perpetrators and victims of war crimes in World War II. The description of Hans Meyer as an industrialist aristocrat further expresses the injustices and loopholes of prosecuting war criminals, as they retained privileged positions in German society.

Ultimately, The Collini Case reflects on vergangeheitsbewältigun, the German term for “the struggle to overcome the past.” Particularly considering Nazi Germany’s central role in the horrors of World War II, vergangeheitsbewältigung refers to remorse and justice for the past, in regards to the individuals that perpetrated trauma and the collective philosophy that allowed it. As the film suggests, despite the country’s efforts to overcome such a past, the existence of certain legal loopholes insists that vergangeheitsbewältigung must actively continue.

Wars, cruel actions, needless killings — these actions in themselves are stalemate situations. There is no good, no progress, and no winner that results from them. However, in the stalemate situations of Caspar’s personal dilemma and the trial itself, justice is the decisive factor in how Caspar and Collini make their decisions. Justice itself is not a win for the side seeking it; after all, it can come only after a tragedy occurs. Nonetheless, justice can determine what the right decision is in a stalemate situation. Eventually, Caspar makes, and takes responsibility for, the decision that promises such wholesome closure.

Film Information

Title: The Collini Case

Director: Marco Kreuzpaintner

Release Date: April 18, 2019

Running Time: 123 minutes

Cast: Elyas M’Barek, Alexandria Maria Lara, Manfred Zapatka