runner

If the Dreyfus case had a script then “An officer and a spy” would surely be that document. Once again Robert Harris selects a time of extreme importance in history and by careful research and a cast of shadowy characters produces a work of some importance. It is a time of great social upheaval and suspicion amongst the super powers namely France, Germany, and Russia. Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused and convicted of passing military secrets to the Germans. He was sentenced to life behind bars on Devils Island. This was a gross injustice carried out with ruthless efficiency by the army. When it became known that it was not Dreyfus but Major Charles Esterhazy who was the perpetrator the army, rather than lose face, did nothing to reverse the situation preferring to let Dreyfus remain in gaol.

An officer and a spy carefully records this historical drama from Alfred Dreyfus’s incarceration and the many attempts by Georges Piquart to have him released, and all charges against him dropped.