Polisse
Directed by Maïwenn
- drama
- crime
The story
Paris, France. Fred and his colleagues, members of the BPM, the Police Child Protection Unit, dedicated to pursuing all sorts of offenses committed against the weakest, must endure the scrutiny of Melissa, a photographer commissioned to graphically document the daily routine of the team.
What it’s like
Handheld, restless camera work in cramped Paris offices and interview rooms, with fluorescent light flattening faces and the grey-blue cast of a municipal building that never quite closes its blinds. Scenes spill over one another in overlapping chatter, the cutting quick and documentary-loose, while stills of raw human moments are framed like the photographer's own shots. The score is sparse and the soundscape is mostly voices, phones, sirens on the street and the hum of corridors. The vibe is tense, grimy and sardonic, with bursts of gallows humour that cut hard against the subject matter. It suits a late evening when you can handle heavy material and want something unsentimental. Intensity is high: child abuse is discussed and shown in case files and photographs, with disturbing but largely unshown acts, and the emotional weight lands hard. Not gentle. For viewers who want a sharp, ensemble-driven look at the people who absorb the worst of the world, and the marriages and friendships that strain under it.
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