Film Review
The most contentious nomination for the Palme d'or at the 2011 Cannes
Film Festival was this self-consciously realist crime drama directed by
actress-turned-filmmaker Maïwenn Le Besco. Like her sister
Isild, another aspiring cineaste, Maïwenn appears to be on a
one-woman personal crusade to instil truth, and nothing but the truth,
into modern cinema, and her distinctive style of
cinéma vérité
has certainly found favour in some quarters. Her first two
feature films -
Pardonnez-moi
(2006) and
Le Bal des actrices
(2009) were very well-received by both the critics and audiences, and her
latest film
Polisse has met
with comparable success, establishing her as one of the most promising
auteur filmmakers in France today. The film may not have won
either of the top prizes at Cannes, but it took away the Jury Prize, to
the consternation of many reviewers present who had written it off
completely.
Polisse concerns itself with a
section of the French police (la Brigade de Protection des Mineurs, or
BPM) that has received little attention, either in cinema or in the
media generally, but which performs a vital service, protecting the
interests of minors and adolescents in the less salubrious districts of
Paris. Maïwenn (the director prefers to be credited by her
first name only) was motivated to make the film immediately after
seeing a documentary on the BPM, having been struck by how physically
and emotionally demanding, and how poorly recognised, is the work
undertaken by this essential police function. Her film pulls no
punches and plunges the spectator into the grim reality of child abuse
and juvenile delinquency, adopting a distinctive style that feels like
a chaotic fusion of documentary and television soap opera. The
film also has a lighter side and is periodically uproariously
funny. Whilst some may (with some justification) judge the film
to be self-indulgent fodder for soap addicts, it is hard to overlook
how daring it is, both in its composition and in what it shows us, a
vibrant slice of life in all its rich and grotesque variety.
There is one aspect of
Polisse
that does jar and weakens its credibility somewhat. It is evident
that Maïwenn's main objective is to depict the lives of her police
heroes and heroines as authentically as possible - a noble aspiration.
One way to achieve this would be to cast actors who are relatively
unknown or have little prior acting experience, as the Italian
neo-realists and French New Wave directors had done, to great
effect. Whilst Maïwenn does employ a number of
non-professional actors, her cast is predominantly made up of some very
distinguished, instantly recognisable actors, something which robs the
film of the very quality that its director says she is striving
for. Karin Viard, Marina Foïs and Nicolas Duvauchelle
are all big name actors in France and familiar to art house audiences
abroad, whilst Joey Starr is one of the country's best-known rap
artists (now successfully launched on a promising acting career).
The celebrity line-up does not end there. From Sandrine Kiberlain
and Louis Do De Lencquesaing to Lou Doillon and Anthony Delon, the
film's credits read like a terminal case of diarrhetic
namedropping. One can't help wondering that, despite her
best intentions, Maïwenn lacks the courage of her convictions.
That quibble aside,
Polisse
is certainly one of the more striking and original French films of
2011, uncomfortable viewing for those stick-in-the-muds who prefer polished,
well-structured dramas and well-defined characters, highly refreshing
for those who welcome something different. Although it has been
likened by some reviewers to contemporary crime dramas - in particular,
the American television series
The
Wire -
Polisse is a
world away from the familiar police procedural. It lies somewhere
in the murky haze between drama and documentary, an extremely personal
variation on a familiar theme. Maïwenn makes it clear from
the outset that this is
her
film by appearing in the film as a character who goes around taking
photographs of her police colleagues as they perform their
duties. She is showing us what she sees and feels, at the exact
instant she presses the button on her camera -
sur le vif, as they say in France.
It is easy to write off
Polisse
as messy and naïve, particularly when its auteur techniques (such
as getting actors to improvise entire scenes) are so imperfectly
applied. Yet, whilst the film is crude, and unbearably tacky in a
few places, it has that essential quality of being alive. In
fact, it is a film that positively bursts with life. If we care
to look beyond the soap-tinted surface, the characters and the world
they inhabit do have a depth and reality to them, we do empathise with
the troubled child protagonists and acquire a deeper respect for their
police protectors. It is a film that it is difficult to like
entirely, and some will doubtless hate it for the inelegant way it
knocks the stuffing out of today's mainstream cinema conventions, yet
it is a film that has definitely made its mark. If
Polisse tells us anything, it is
that the pursuit of truth in cinema is almost certainly bound to
fail. In art, there can never be truth, merely interpretations of
truth, an imperfect shadow of reality reflecting the personality and
experiences of the person holding the paintbrush or the camera.
If Maïwenn has learned this lesson by making this film, we can
surely expect great things of her in future.
© James Travers 2012
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Children are increasingly at risk from abuse, both inside and outside the
home, which is why a special police squad has been set up in Paris to protect
the city's vulnerable infants. It's a job that is demanding both physically
and emotionally, and the resources of the squad are constantly stretched
to breaking point. Their work isn't confined to pursuing paedophiles
and teenage pickpockets. They must also deal with parents who make
a habit of abusing their offspring, physically and sexually. Some of
the abuse they witness is too terrible to put into words, but the work has
to be done.
The team provides a vital service for the children of Paris, and it can well
do without the distraction afforded by Melissa, a photographer who has been
commissioned by the Home Office to produce a book on the squad's activities.
Melissa seems to be interested not only in the nature of this demanding work,
but how it impacts on the incredibly dedicated men and women who have to
undertake it - work that presents challenges which most ordinary people would
find impossible to cope with...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by frenchfilms.org and must not be copied.