Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
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.
Polisse is a raw, ensemble-driven procedural that follows a Paris child protection unit with documentary-like immediacy. The plot is fragmented and episodic rather than traditionally structured, but this mosaic approach feels authentic and emotionally devastating — multiple storylines accumulate into a powerful portrait of institutional stress and human resilience, earning a high mark. The ensemble acting is exceptional, with naturalistic performances from Karin Viard, Joey Starr, and the large cast conveying exhaustion, gallows humor, and grief with remarkable credibility. Cinematography is handheld and verité in style — functional and effective but not particularly distinguished beyond its purposeful rawness. Novelty is solid but not exceptional — the embedded-observer premise and episodic structure have precedents in French social cinema, though the specific milieu and Maïwenn's personal tone give it a distinct voice. The ending is abrupt and deliberately unsettling, which suits the film's refusal of easy resolution, but it lands more as a gut-punch than a fully earned dramatic culmination, keeping it from the top mark.