The Polisse
When the first movie in your 6-film SIFF package is about the lives of the police of the Parisian Child Protection Unit, you prepare yourself to mine the depths of the darkest parts of humanity. What you don’t expect is a movie that is also equal parts funny and lively. I expected a long two-hour slog that would just leave me sad and questioning the human condition. However, The Polisse embrace humanity in all its aspects, good and bad, abhorrent and uplifting.
The film is about the French CPU which are part social workers and part investigating police. Whenever there is a accusation of child abuse, they question everyone involved and sometimes have to intervene physically and bureaucratically.
I have read other reviews that mention similarities to “The Wire” in both scope and pacing. The analogy is apt. The movie spends just as much time in humanizing the officers as it does on the actual cases. The film takes its time and allows the actors room to breathe and flex in all of their scenes.
There is an amazing moment in the middle of the movie. After an especially trying case of a kidnapped infant, the officers decide to celebrate the (relatively) positive conclusion with a night partying and dancing. The film is confident in its characters that this scene plays out for several minutes. Surprisingly, in a movie with so much dialogue, this scene is dense in emotion and characterization. Friendships are solidified, love begins, catharsis is reached. It is a welcome break for both the characters and the audience. Sandwiched in the middle of the all-encompassing darkness of the real world, this moment of levity feels earned and immersive.
There is an amazing moment in the middle of the movie. After an especially trying case of a kidnapped infant, the officers decide to celebrate the (relatively) positive conclusion with a night partying and dancing. The film is confident in its characters that this scene plays out for several minutes. Surprisingly, in a movie with so much dialogue, this scene is dense in emotion and characterization. Friendships are solidified, love begins, catharsis is reached. It is a welcome break for both the characters and the audience. Sandwiched in the middle of the all-encompassing darkness of the real world, this moment of levity feels earned and immersive.
The love and friendships that are broken and forged throughout the course of the movie feel real. Their problems are sprawling, with some thriving amidst the conflicts and some breaking in spectacular and heart-wrenching ways.
French rapper JoeyStarr steals the show regularly with his portrayal of Fred. Fred is the usual hot-headed cop stereotype, but JoeyStarr has a magnetic presence with his craggy features, low growl, and physical stature. His efforts to console a boy being taken from his homeless mother brought the entire theater to tears. I cried.
The dialogue is top-notch (or as much as I could judge being a non-French speaker). There is a great cadence with French language films. During terse arguments, there is a flow bordering on ad-libbed poetry.
High on emotion, drama, and characterization, it feels rough around the edges with abrupt editing and scene changes. Though in a way, it helps convey the docudrama, gritty feel of the entire film. The Polisse is an intense drama with characters and scenes that will haunt you long after the last reel.
This is a great movie and a fantastic start to another SIFF.
Other observations:
- From an American perspective, the idea of cops relaxing after work in a Parisian cafe with wine and cheese is pretty awesome.
- If the subject of child abuse isn’t a dead giveaway, this movie can be highly disturbing and frighteningly sobering. Despite a few genuinely hilarious scenes, the movie is grim.
- The Polisse provides another example of the “French Ending”. That means no one is happy at the end of this movie.
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