Chambre 2806: l'affaire DSK réal. par Jalil Lespert

Abstract

Reviewed by: Chambre 2806: l'affaire DSK réal. par Jalil Lespert Maria G. Traub Lespert, Jalil, réal. Chambre 2806: l'affaire DSK. Int. Nafissatou Diallo, Raphaëlle Bacqué, Élisabeth Guigou, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Netflix, 2020. A fast-paced, riveting series in four installments, this documentary offers an investigative analysis of the principals, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Nafissatou Diallo. The incident bringing these two individuals into contact occurred in Room 2806 of the Sofitel Hotel in New York City, on 14 May 2011. Carefully sequenced, a succession of journalists, heads of police or security sectors, lawyers and government experts expound on the strengths and weaknesses of plaintiff, defendant, and the case in general. Le Monde journalist Raphaëlle Bacqué gives succinct commentaries, bringing insight from the French perspective, while Assistant to the IMF Managing Director Delrene Boyd provides a professional picture of Strauss-Kahn in the Washington workplace. A case of international dimension unfolds, whose players involve a wealthy, renowned individual, likely to become the next president of France, in opposition to a poor, female immigrant from West Africa, working in the housekeeping department of a luxury hotel. At issue is sexual aggression of a rough and forcible nature, continuing for nine minutes in the hotel room. While we marvel at the brilliant mind of Strauss-Kahn and his prominence on the world stage, we are equally confounded by his inability to master his sensual appetites. In a comprehensive overview of political developments in France and world economic crises, notably in Greece, one grasps the case's repercussions beyond the two participants. Some support the possibility of an entrapment, staged and managed by oppositional forces, given his position as frontrunner in the upcoming presidential election in France ("Yes, we Kahn"). Indeed, when he arrived at the hotel, he was assigned the Presidential Suite, but after check-out spent the ensuing night in a New York jail before transfer to Rikers Island. It was Kahn's forgotten cell phone that caused his arrest because when he called the hotel to report that he had left it there, they needed to know his specific location in order to effect its return. Diallo had to be coaxed repeatedly into pressing charges, and after she had done so, the security team at the hotel broke into a victory dance. Diallo made compromising remarks about the case during a phone call to a male friend serving time in a New York jail. Due to her changing the story several times, to discovery of untruths and fabrications from her past, the strength of her case weakened. In rape cases, the law considers whether the victim sustained serious injury, whether weapons were involved in the incident, whether an arrest was made at the scene of the incident, and most importantly, the strength of the defense. Prosecuting this case of "he says, she says" became legally moot. Nevertheless, Strauss-Kahn's career abruptly came to an end—he resigned from the IMF, his political aspirations were ruined, and he spent millions to save himself. Diallo received an un-disclosed financial settlement out of court. Sadly, the film shows that in his life after the debacle, Strauss-Kahn remained inextricably addicted to sexual conquest. [End Page 221] Maria G. Traub Neumann University (PA) Copyright © 2021 American Association of Teachers of French