Domestic Violence 2

Director Frederick Wiseman is a master of direct cinema, a documentary school in which the crew keeps as low a profile as possible, like a ‘fly on the wall’. Domestic Violence 2 is again characterised by the typical long shots without voice-over, interviews or music. The lawsuits involving domestic violence in Tampa, Florida are filmed as discreetly as possible, with only now and then a close-up of a judge, suspect or witness. Wiseman, who already portrayed the police and a women’s refuge centre in Tampa in Domestic Violence, begins this sequel with the arrest of a woman, who is patiently explained by police officers that her scratching falls under domestic violence according to a new law – and that they always arrest people in this case. Next, Wiseman shows the massive arraignment of suspects in a court of law, where a deadly serious judge rushes through the various cases. This ‘assembly line’ occasionally looks rather disordered, like in later scenes when other judges pass sentence. Apart from showing the judge as an individual, it also shows the role of a criminal record and a police report. This film may not deal with the gravest cases of domestic violence, but the tempo in which judgement is passed is equally alarming and impressive. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)