Polisse tells the story of the daily lives of a tight-knit team of police who make the Child Protection Unit of Parisian police. With a tight, well written script, the film explores the relationships of the team both at work and in their personal lives. The film is shot in a Cinéma vérité style really helping the viewer submerge themselves into the characters and the their jobs in the Child Protection Unit. Given what the film is about it can be a hard to film to watch at parts, considering the characters routinely question and interview pedophiles, which in itself can be cringe-inducing. That being said, the film is actually pretty damn funny, with some nice witty dialogue that helps keep the film from becoming too heavy. The strongest aspect of this film without a doubt though is how immersive it is into these character's lives as they attempt to preserve their sanity. We see how this tough, yet rewarding job influences the characters in their daily lives and the film really gives us a lot of detail about almost every character in the unit. There are a few scenes, particularly towards the end of the film, where characters lash-out or explode out of rage, frustration, etc, no doubt showing the frustration and wear and tear it has on these men and woman's souls. There is also this small undercurrent of corruption and the need for change which slowly slithers to the surface of the narrative raising some questions about how the system works. I personally found some of the characters, particularly Fred, an emotional man who is continually pushed to the limits, to be very compelling. This is a really well done film and I understand the comparisons to 'The Wire' but I did feel that this film could have been a little more restrained at times, particularly a major scuffle towards the end, which felt forced, and I'm not entirely sure how I felt about the very end.. maybe a little too much?! 8/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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