Review of The Life of Emile Zola (1937) by Colleen C — 20 Dec 2009

The action in this movie doesn't really start until Zola gets involved with the Dreyfus Affair, so I'm not sure that The Life of Emile Zola is actually the best title. There were a few instances where the filmmakers fudged history for dramatic effect, which seemed like a cheap trick to me.

The fact that Zola was portrayed as pompous and selfish was comical to me. The audience doesn't relate to him, and he comes across as weak and self involved. There is a grain of truth in that, but I would have thought that if the filmmakers didn't care about historical accuracy, they would have at least made Zola a more stand up guy.