Quick Takes: "Polisse", "The Kid with a Bike", "I Wish"

"Polisse" (First Viewing)

Directed by Maiwenn

"Polisse" opens with a table conversation where two untarnished young girls promise to always tell the truth. This is a mission statement that director Maiwenn was wise to take to heart, given that across the film's two hours are a handful of truly unnerving scenes that brings across the serious tragedy that the French Child Protection Unit deals with every day. These are not mere creations of the director's emotional whims, but taken from real cases that Maiwenn does well to recreate for the audience. Much like a commoner who is visiting the offices for a short period, these scenes come across as invasively piercing evidence of things we haven't the experience to understand; only the heart to cry for.

Child abuse is doubtlessly the heaviest topic that is dealt with in "Polisse", and the cases are given rather thorough and aggressive attention, though not by writer-director Maiwenne. Her characters do much of what we'd like to do, which is to express outrage overtly towards these horrible individuals. As for the film itself, it takes on a much more procedural approach to these events. There must have been more than twenty different cases shown throughout the film, and not all of them hit right at the heart the way others do. The abundance of these events nearly dulls the shock of some of the films more expressive moments. As focused as Maiwenn may be to get these events the proper audience, some would have been better left to the cutting room floor.

Cannes Coverage 2011: "Polisse"

I don't really know what to make of this film, and that might be a good thing. Set in Paris, France, following a juvenile protection unit, it stars director Maiwenn Le Besco as a photojournalist who falls for one of the cops she's documenting. Isn't that just the way of things? Polisse, intentionally misspelled as to look like a child's writing, has done its part to divide critics to some degree. I always see that as a good thing, as it avoids the risk of high expectations. Furthermore, there's something exciting about heading into a film you're not entirely sure will be good or not.

Brad Brevet (Rope of Silicon), A-: "The joy, pain and heartbreak of the job is felt by the audience as a result of the crimes depicted on the screen, all of which were taken from actual cases. However, none of this would work had it not been for the performances of an incredible cast. Made up of a group of actors I was entirely unfamiliar with, Polisse runs the gamut of emotions, and never lets up as the final frame is one that will stick with you long after you've left the theater no matter how dramatized you may believe it to be."