Humanity has been quick to go to war since the dawn of time, either for resources, territory, or power. Even with all our modern navigational equipment and nautical vessels, it’s quite difficult to travel across the tumultuous waters that cover most of our planet. So, you can imagine the thirst for invasion conquerors had back in the day to do the same with ships made of wood and only the stars to guide them. I can’t walk to the next district, but emperors traversed the most treacherous parts of Earth using primitive transportation just to expand their domain. What I’m trying to get at is that there are numerous examples throughout history that point to the fact that war is tedious, time-consuming, and leads to the loss of many innocent lives. And that it’s best to avoid so that we can progress as a species, whilst keeping our planet healthy and sustainable. However, in the 21st century, wars have become a regular affair, weapons manufacturing industries are booming, and the general populace is celebrating their leaders for crimes that should shake our collective conscience. War and Justice takes a look at this troubling trend while highlighting the struggle of indicting war criminals.
Marcus Vetter and Michele Gentile’s War and Justice largely follows ICC (International Criminal Court) prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and his 20-year-long journey to establish and apply the rule that initiating a war is the greatest crime that can be committed by a nation. The narrative primarily takes place in 2022, where Ocampo is attending a meeting on the precedent that was set by the Nuremberg trials and how it’s going for a toss due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s attack on Palestine. His aim is to not just tackle the topic of war from a political or religious standpoint, but also compel people and governments to look at it from a humanitarian perspective. And as he prepares his speech by consulting his former colleague, Joanna Frivet, the clocks are periodically turned back by 13 years in order to show Ocampo’s work on the war crimes happening in Ituri, and how it led to the first conviction in the history of the ICC. Apart from Ocampo and the complicated functioning of the ICC, the documentary highlights the immense contribution of Ben Ferencz, who was one of the youngest prosecutors at the Nuremberg trials and one of the most prominent voices against the wars in Ukraine and Palestine.
War and Justice undoubtedly covers a lot of ground to illustrate the complexities that the ICC faces. I’m not sure if the filmmakers are sympathetic towards the international body’s plight or if they are scrutinizing their shortcomings by underscoring how the ICC is limited by the rules that they’ve written for themselves. But the one thing that becomes very obvious is how we, as a species, have turned the limited time we have on this beautiful planet into an endless cycle of chaos and destruction. Things have become so bad that we can’t even agree on the simple fact that war is bad. Years ago, when the daughter of a martyred soldier advocated for peace, she was trolled by union ministers and prominent athletes because how dare someone call for a ceasefire and ask for a diplomatic solution during wartime. And now you have pop stars making music videos calling for genocide. Yes, it’s commendable that people like Ocampo are trying to get presidents, prime ministers, and governments to accept that war is bad. However, the idea of glorifying armed conflicts has become so entrenched in the minds of the common folk that I don’t even know what it’d take to make them unlearn the garbage in their heads and teach them to lead with empathy.
Now, if you are up-to-date with all the atrocities that are happening as you read this sentence, I don’t think any of the aforementioned information or philosophical debates will be news to you. But I think Benjamin Ferencz and his work will come as a surprise to many, and I say that because, thanks to War and Justice, I have heard about him for the first time in my life. As shown in the documentary, Ferencz was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials and the chief prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case. He was integral to the formation of the International Criminal Court. He called George W. Bush a war criminal and suggested that he should be tried for his actions during the Iraq War. As mentioned earlier, he was present during the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. He explicitly stated that Vladimir Putin should be imprisoned. His life-long mission to end war was championed by the State of Palestine. He appeared as an interviewee in various documentaries and was the subject of one, titled Prosecuting Evil. And he died fighting the good fight. So, my question is this: why aren’t there a dozen biopics, or just one brilliant biopic, on this dude? Not even one? That’s preposterous, and I hope someone changes that ASAP.
War and Justice is a timely documentary, which sounds like a good and a bad thing at the same time, right? I mean, the fact that the film is relevant means that wars are happening, criminals are not being convicted of the crimes they are committing, and entire generations are being erased from the face of the Earth. And it doesn’t seem like some kind of change is on the horizon. Every year, the defense budget is increasing by several notches. World leaders are stoking the flames of bigotry and racism to secure their position on the throne, while securing the future of their family members. Propaganda films are taking warmongering to the next level. People are ignoring the real issues that are plaguing their lives as they are convinced that killing “the enemy” will solve everything. But that is the pessimist in me speaking. Folks like Luis Moreno Ocampo and Ben Ferencz have seen stuff that I hope I wouldn’t want to witness even in my worst nightmares; yet, they managed to maintain an optimistic outlook. So, even if it is for a second, I’ll channel their energy and hope that this documentary reaches everyone and compels them to take off their hate-goggles, thereby allowing them to speak up against the war crimes that are being conducted with the taxes they’ve paid.
