The Western legal system, in its purest form, fulfills an elaborate and even awesome fantasy. There are profound grievances redressed, melodramas of good and evil and pots of gold that change hands, often in unexpected ways (sometimes even from rich to poor).
The existential thrill of the rule of law — something we hear about infrequently, if ever, in the West — is on display tonight on “The People’s Court,” on PBS. The nation discovering the law’s maddening charms, as if for the first time, is China, which has been compelled to develop a new legal framework in tandem with its breakneck economy. In the last 25 years the country has opened nearly 400 law schools, in which the brand-new individual-rights-based law is taught, and hundreds of thousands of judges and lawyers have hastily been trained.
This episode of “Wide Angle,” the global documentary series, is shot with grace, poignancy and humor, and never sacrifices elegance for sanctimony. Suspense derives from this amazing subject: How quickly can a new body of law be instantiated and citizens be made to recognize it? The Chinese government thwarts the rise of the justice system. It jails lawyers who challenge state leadership, and nearly everyone tried in criminal court is convicted.
A showdown in the countryside between contentious next-door neighbors with tree troubles — this could be an American suburb — culminates in arson, and a visit from three city judges who hear the case. (One of the farmers had seen an exceptionally fair judge on television; the prospect of having his Hatfield- McCoy problems settled once and for all, by a voice of reason, filled him with joy.)
The judges set up their bench amid dirt, stones and ducks. Villagers arrive in droves, carrying babies, half-done knitting and scythes. The man who believes his neighbor deliberately burned down his trees states his case, holding her responsible for the demise of 150 red bamboos, 60 blue bamboo, 320 bitter bamboo, 4 banana and 10 tea trees, not to mention 5 pepper plants.
The voice-over becomes uncharacteristically patronizing here, describing the plaintiff’s opening statements: “This is Li Yao Quan’s big moment. He isn’t going to be rushed.” This sounds like serious damage; no lawyer would rush it either. And “big moment” sounds like a child’s birthday party.
When the plaintiff is awarded $52 for his trees — not all of what he asked for, but better than nothing — all parties seem fairly pleased. Sometimes the appearance of out-of-towners with open minds and book learning, especially those who can say “You write him a check for X,” are just what two angry people need.
The filmmakers’ sensitivity to the beauty and ironies of the law in its essence (which we rarely get to see in the United States) also generates scenes like the one in which Li Ming Na, a grouchy onetime car salesman in a vinyl jacket is shown sitting in court at a microphone. Prepared to argue in his own defense that he deserves severance pay from the company that fired him, Mr. Li is nonetheless hunched low, with the microphone craning over to meet his mouth.
We’re told, in voice-over, that Mr. Li has little education, and it’s not surprising when an officer of the court enters the frame and — with white gloves, no less — adjusts the microphone upward, so Mr. Li will be forced to sit up straighter. What’s more exciting, though, is Mr. Li’s immediate response: He cuts his eyes left at the bailiff, sneering — do you believe this guy? — and returns the mike to its downward position with a snap.
It’s a nice, sharp power play, and a canny use of the nascent procedures of the courtroom by someone with an ax to grind who has come for what’s his. (He’s awarded his severance pay, and his smile at the end of the trial is enormous.) The wordless exchange is also proof that good scenes come to cameras that wait.
WIDE ANGLE
The People’s Court
On most PBS stations tonight (check local listings).
Stephen Segaller, executive producer; Pamela Hogan, series producer; Andy Halper, senior producer; Bruno Sorrentino, director; Maggie Still, program producer. Produced by WNET, New York.
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