Poliezei

In order to improve the image of the Paris police's youth protection unit, Beauchard (Vladimir Yordanoff), the head of the department, allows photographer Melissa (Maïwenn) to observe the women (including.Karin Viard and Mariana Foïs, among others) and men (Arnaud Henriet and Jérémie Elkaim, among others) of the department in their daily work. While the head of the unit Balloo (Frédéric Pierrot) promises the young woman full support, the quick-tempered Fred (Joey Starr) categorically rejects the presence of the photographer. Because he is convinced that her reporting will be negative and lurid and will not reflect the dark reality that the police officers have to deal with day after day. But a traumatic assignment drastically changes Fred's attitude.

With Poliezei, whose spelling is deliberately misspelled, director Maïwenn has created a gripping drama that comes across as almost documentary-like at moments. After spending some time with the youth protection unit and having long conversations with the police officers about their work, the filmmaker processed these stories into a screenplay that she only cautiously added to or changed with dramaturgical liberties. Supported by a great ensemble of actors, the result is a gripping insight into the work of police officers, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes sad and then again frightening and infuriating.

The film shows particularly well what the work makes of the police officers. Either one builds up an emotional shield, whereby it is incredibly difficult to turn this off after the end of the shift, or the fates that one encounters here day after day slowly but surely eat away at one. This is evident both in your private life, but also in your dealings with victims and perpetrators. It's to Maïwenn's credit that she doesn't make the officers into infallible heroes, but lets them be human, with all their rough edges, strengths and weaknesses. That's exactly what makes this film so engaging.

It may be that the film dwells on too many plot points here and there and the whole thing is dragged out by scenes that are, on the surface, rather unnecessary. It's also questionable whether some particularly dramatic scenes, the finale included, would really have been needed to make Poliezei such a strong film. But nonetheless, despite minor lengths and missteps, the drama has tremendous power that captivates the viewer and doesn't let go long after the credits roll.

Sympathetic yet shocking, relentless yet entertaining, at times hard to take then surprisingly funny, Poliezei is all that. If you like sophisticated European dramas, don't miss this Cannes Jury Prize winning film. Absolutely worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp