Movie Review: Presumed Guilty

The Mexican justice system is fucked up.

That’s the primary message that I took away from Presumed Guilty, the story of Toño Zúñiga’s wrongful conviction for homicide. But it’s also a story of hope for change to the system.

I checked the movie out with Allan last night after getting a pair of free tickets from Ted Kerr, the Interim General Manager for Global Visions Film Festival. The screening of Presumed Guilty was presented as part of Global Visions’ Doc Soup series.

The film is, according to the official website:

[...] the story of two young lawyers and their incredible struggle to free Tono. With no background in film, they set about recording his story as they realized that only a camera could reveal the institutionalized injustice they were witnessing.

Shot over 3 years with unprecedented camera access to the Mexican court and prison systems, this observational film is highly dramatic and full of real suspense, yet also, a searing indictment of a system where the Police do not have to investigate because the system presumes guilt.

Yes, you read that right: the system presumes guilt. When the movie started, I thought this was meant non-literally, that the presumption of guilt was a result of a corrupt justice system. Alas, that is not the case. Until very recently, Mexican law was very literally based on a presumption of guilt, rather than a presumption of innocence.

Thankfully, this was recently changed. In 2008, Mexican President Felipe Calderón signed a constitutional amendment removing the presumption of guilt, along with sweeping changes that will result in a legal system that is more like the American justice system:

[...] guilt or innocence will no longer be decided behind closed doors by a judge relying on written evidence.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers will now argue their cases in court, and judges must explain their decisions to defendants.

Unfortunately, these changes won’t fully take effect until 2016. I guess it takes a while to completely change a massive bureaucracy, but 8 years is a long time to wait for a fair and effective justice system.

Visually, the film was a bit rough. In fact, the version we saw hadn’t finished post-production.

But, while I found some of the editing decisions to be a bit strange (there were a few extended interludes that seemed a bit out of place, for example) it was overall very well done, especially when you consider that director Roberto Hernández is a lawyer, rather than a film director.

In addition to revealing many of the failures of the Mexican justice system, Presumed Guilty tells a compelling story that keeps viewers on the edge of their seat until the very end. There is a moment near the end—which I won’t spoil for those who haven’t seen the film—that actually made me angry. Even though I saw it coming, I was angry that something so unjust could occur in a democratic nation.

There’s something to be said for a movie—especially a documentary—that can tell a story so well that I became emotionally invested to the point of feeling anger toward a number of the people involved in Toño’s case.

If you have the chance to view the movie (I believe a DVD version is coming soon), I highly recommend it.

For more information about Presumed Guilty and for info about upcoming documentary screenings at Metro Cinema, check out the Doc Soup website.