Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
As anger and resentment grow in the face of social inequalities, many citizens-led protests are being repressed with an ever-increasing violence. In this documentary, David Dufresne gathers a panel of citizens to question, exchange and confront their views on the social order and the legitimacy of the use of force by the State.
The Monopoly of Violence is a thoughtful French documentary by David Dufresne examining state violence and police repression through a roundtable discussion format, sparked by the Gilets Jaunes movement. The panel-driven structure generates genuine intellectual friction and includes diverse voices from activists to philosophers, giving the film real analytical depth. However, the talking-heads format is cinematographically modest — mostly static shots of participants with limited visual dynamism — making it feel more like a filmed debate than a cinematic work. The film's framing around Weber's concept of the state monopoly on violence gives it a conceptual anchor, but the roundtable documentary approach is not particularly novel. The ending lacks resolution by design, reflecting the open nature of the debate, but this leaves the viewer without a strong concluding impact.