On the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2024, the movie "Article 20" directed by Zhang Yimou will be officially released. The title of the film is taken from the "Article 20" of the Criminal Law, which tells the story of the justice and human feelings behind the law of "legitimate defense".
According to the official blog of @Movie Article 20, on February 13, the film has attracted more than 10 million viewers to watch, and a number of indices have reversed.
Netizen comments
The film refers to the Kunshan anti-homicide case, Laiyuan anti-homicide case, etc
A real-life case in reality
As the first rule of law film in China to focus on the issue of "legitimate defense," what are the unique features of the movie "Article 20"? What breakthroughs have been made in telling the story of the rule of law? The film tells the story of Han Mingren, a temporary prosecutor, who is middle-aged and wants to fight hard in his career for the last time, but is unexpectedly involved in a case with huge differences. He eliminated the interference of all parties, kept the bottom line of the law, applied the law accurately, and returned justice to the parties.
Zhang Tingting, producer of the Film and Television Center of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, said, "At the beginning of our creation, we wanted to promote the concept of 'the law cannot yield to the law', activate the sleeping law, stop illegal infringement, and promote the spirit of justice and righteousness." Zhang Tingting revealed that the cases in the film refer to real cases in reality such as the Kunshan anti-homicide case, the Fuzhou Zhao Yu case and the Laiyuan anti-homicide case. The film highly restores the real prosecutors who handle the case, they also have work pressure and daily trivialities in life, the pressure of promotion in middle age, the pressure of children going to school, and the joys, sorrows and sorrows of ordinary people, which are all presented in a slightly witty way in the movie.
Image source: Official Weibo of the movie Article 20
The Supreme People's Procuratorate issued two film reviews in a row
On February 11, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released a film review "Shirk and Responsibility" signed by Ji Bingxue (the First Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate).
According to the article, although the 1997 Criminal Law provided for a relatively complete system of legitimate defense, it was a "sleeping clause" for a considerable period of time. In 2018, after the Kunshan anti-homicide case awakened the "sleeping clause" of the criminal law on justifiable defense, in recent years, the judicial organs have handled a number of justified defense cases of great concern to the society, such as the case of Zhao Yu's righteousness and bravery, the anti-homicide case of Laiyuan in Hebei, and the Shengchunping case in Zhejiang.
The issue of legitimate defense has aroused widespread concern in society, and in fact reflects the people's demand for democracy, rule of law, fairness, justice, and security. The procuratorial organs responded to social concerns in a timely manner, actively promoted social righteousness, and the spirit of the rule of law that "the law cannot yield to the lawless" has gradually taken root in the hearts of the people, and has become a concept of the rule of law that procurators must follow in handling such cases.
Each case is heavy, and it seems to be quite helpless. As the last line of defense to maintain social fairness and justice, if the judiciary fails, it may lose the hearts and minds of the people. Fortunately, it is precisely because a group of prosecutors and police officers such as Han Ming and Lu Lingling have adhered to their original intentions that justice has finally been served and evil deeds have been punished, which has made us feel hope in the heaviness and helplessness. On February 12, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released a film review titled "The Law Is Not Cold Logic" by Liu Zhe, deputy director of the First Procuratorate Department of the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate and a third-level senior prosecutor.
According to the author of the article, Article 20 refers to Article 20 of the Criminal Law, that is, the article on legitimate defense. This clause is so familiar and yet so unfamiliar. The content is generally known, but how many of us really understand its essential meaning and its heavy weight. When it falls on a person's head, it is the fate of a person, even the fate of a family, and the most precious things such as reputation, dignity, and freedom. It affects a person's sense of right and wrong and sense of justice.
Why is it said that we are not handling a case, but someone else's life, because it is related to right and wrong, justice and people's hearts...... Respect and understanding are both two-way, and only when the judiciary respects and believes in the law from the bottom of their hearts, handles cases in accordance with the law, and enforces the law impartially despite all difficulties and dangers, can the public believe in the law, believe in the law, and believe that the spirit of the rule of law can be realized with certainty. The law is not cold logic, the law is justice and freedom in the hearts of the people.
Luo Xiang read "Article 20" and recalled the original intention of popularizing law
On the 12th, Luo Xiang, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, watched "Article 20" to recall the original intention of popularizing the law, which also attracted the attention of netizens. In the video, Luo Xiang discussed the movie "Article 20", and also popularized the science of how to understand legitimate defense in the criminal law, and how ordinary people should deal with themselves when they encounter similar situations.
Luo Xiang said: "There are no rational people in the law, only ordinary people with flesh and blood. We are all imperfect ordinary people, so we should put ourselves in the position of the defender and not be too harsh on the defender. ”
Zhou Huiyong, deputy director of the First Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, also said that there is only a thin line between "legitimate defense" and "excessive defense"-
(Source: China Youth Daily's official WeChat)