We believe you: a powerful closed session (criticism)

Myriem Akeddiou transforms body and soul into a mother ready to do anything to protect her children from negligent justice, immersed in a gripping thriller that dissects the complexity of the judicial system.

We believe you opens on a face. With a dejected face and a damaged look, Alice drags her turbulent son by the scruff of the neck in the hope of not missing the tram. One goal: to arrive on time for your appointment. Not the one at the hairdresser, nor the one at the dentist, but the one at the youth protection court. Facing a judge and alongside an ex-husband who is questioning custody, Alice struggles to defend her choice to take her children away from their father for two years now.

There are many films that dissect the complexity of the legal system, and this one is no exception: its unbreathable mix of sexual violence and presumption of innocence acts like a punch in the windpipe.

But the ability of the Devillers-Dufeys duo not to rely on the dramatic nature of the subject distinguishes We believe you from the usual trial film. They prefer to rethink it as an action thriller, firstly, thanks to a restless camera whose tight shots struggle to follow the actress. And suddenly, the staging calms down in favor of a continuous take where the pleadings of three real lawyers follow one another, in a gesture touching on documentary.

Between a feeling of urgency and an oppressive atmosphere, the physiological reactions take turns: shivers in the face of Myriem Akeddiou’s interpretation, nausea during the opposing party’s arguments, muscular tensions in the face of a failing system. And finally, a tight throat when the screen goes black again.

By Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys. With Myriem Akheddiou, Laurent Capelluto, Natali Broods… Duration 1h18. Released November 12, 2025