AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The_late_Buddy_Ryan Involving and highly watchable, like a French Altman film. The officers of the BPM (Brigade for the Protection of Minors) work a tough Paris precinct (Belleville/Porte St Denis), patiently investigating the most appalling crimes, and get no respect from other branches of the force. They're portrayed as being high-strung and even tantrum-prone, quite different from the steely pros we're used to on "SVU," which makes perfect sense to me. A female officer of Arab descent almost literally throws the book (the Qu'ran that is) at a Muslim who smugly asserts his right to marry off his daughter to a stranger of his choosing; two longtime friends have a hideous screaming fight after one of them tweaks the other about Facebooking on the job… (The subtitlist does a great job with the raucous ensemble scenes, btw.) Writer-director Maïwenn dons geeky Elvis Costello glasses to play a photographer who's attached to the unit, though it takes a while to explain how she got the job. Great performances by all; hiphop artist Joey Starr (né Didier Morville) is a standout. The shocker ending may seem arbitrary to some, but, in light of all that's gone before, I totally bought it.

ihrtfilms It started quite well, but after a while, I found it incomprehensible the way the team handle the cases. They were so extremely aggressive and often quite vile: asking the woman about her sex life in a such a rude manner, as she was the culprit or the girl who lost her phone, laughing in her face. Or the way the harass the girl who's just had a stillbirth. Really? This is how police deal with sensitive cases? I don't think so. And multiple agents interviewing people seemed unreal as well. Dealing with some of the crimes would no doubt be hard to deal with and difficult to keep emotions in check, but there is no professional conduct, no calm, collective approach or even respect and that seems outrageous. Shocking film.

picturesque-arts Polisse is a film that has struck me with its powerful dialogue, a few very intimate and heartbreaking scenes, and the strange, tragic ending. Starting with the elements of the film that stung my heart... 1. The girl with the stillborn child, the result of a rape. The baby was so small and so obviously premature that it couldn't really be categorized as an infant - but the young girl didn't refer to it as a fetus. She ignored the tacit anxiety of the nurses and asked to hold her baby, and she cradled it with the most heartbreaking look of denial in her eyes. She was completely in a daze, and when she finally began to cry I just couldn't believe how real it felt. 2. The scene in which Melissa and Fred were having dinner with her family. The editing just made everything seem so fresh and breezy, and the way this scene was cut just made me incredibly nostalgic. The lines were so adorable too - from Melissa's sweet grandfather to the close-ups of delighted smiles and familial love. Also, seeing Melissa on the balcony, taking pictures of people on the street - who actually were people involved who went the CPU as victims or predators - was so powerful. First of all, the composition of Melissa photographing just blew me away. Secondly, I was so completely touched when I saw little denouements for the minor characters, like the African woman reunited with her son. This entire scene was something I really found valuable and meaningful. 3. Nora's intense screaming at the religious man about the Q'uran and respect. He absolutely deserved it, especially after he told her that she should have been at home with her husband and children. 4. The most beautiful and poignant scene in the entire movie, for me, was after Mathieu got shot and was in the hospital with Chrys. I began to hold my breath as soon as he, with a lap full of Pepito cookies that Chrys bought him, touched her hand with this unbearably honest sense of devotion and affection. Chrys' husband left the room. They entwined their fingers together, and he said, "You do love me a bit, don't you?" She kissed him with a sad passion, and they both began sobbing. I have never, ever seen a more intimate or perfect moment of love and sadness. I commend both actors - Nicolas Duvuauchelle and Karole Rocher - for portraying their flawless chemistry in a way that I will never, ever forget.Things I liked and disliked: 1. Balloo's outrage at his wife when suggested to "talk about work" incited him into screaming about how he would have to wake up at 4AM in order to take children away and rip families apart. I found this scene to be powerful, but it was a little too early on in the film for such an overwhelming and self-deprecating commentary on the justice system. There were many other scenes in which "talking about work" caused there to be overly offensive language that escalated too quickly to be realistic. The CPU workers would give numerous examples of pedophilia and prostitution in their speeches concerning their dislike for talking about work; I just found these examples to be crudely insensitive and way out of line, even for a CPU worker. 2. The spitfire dialogue between Gabriel and the older officers in the cafeteria. I found it to be realistic and interesting to observe, but it did become too noisy and thus slightly ineffective. 3. The large cast and each character's highly distinctive character. The acting in this film was just amazing. I found that I was able to distinguish each person for myself. However, by the time I did (and with such a big cast) I found myself missing out on the little details that defined each character. 3. Melissa. I think some aspects of her character added to the film - like her fake glasses and failing to shoot the gun well - but overall she was an awkward addition to the cast, and was too much in between; she never really was distant enough to be isolated (would always be around, even at their social gatherings) but didn't bond at all with any of them except for Fred. Her romance with Fred I found to be a beautifully filmed and executed relationship - but it was NOT something to be shoved in the middle of a fast-paced and gritty film like this one.Things I didn't like: 1. Nadine interrupting the judge and slowly kissing her husband passionately on the neck, in front of the judge/lawyers. I just wanted to ask, what purpose does such an action serve? All it did was make me feel uncomfortable. 2. The weird relationship between Melissa and her husband. What was his purpose? Since he isn't the foil to Melissa's character (she basically has none), what purpose does he serve? As I see it, he only adds more sadness bulk to the film when he is watching Melissa pack her things and move away. 3. The very last part of the ending... Just, why?Overall, I will say that most of the ending really was what warmed my heart. Though there were quite a few unanswered questions, the peppering of sweet lines ("You couldn't even be an extra") and the powerfully convincing dialogues (Nadine and Iris) really made up for the plot holes and problems with filming. There are so many more things I would like to discuss about this film but maybe the best thing would be for you to watch it yourself. I definitely recommend it!

MacCarmel I had been looking forward to seeing this film and knew that it had gotten good reviews by critics who I respect. But after seeing it, I am not on the same page. My review may stand out on IMDb as in "which one of these is not like the other". I did not find it funny, nor thrilling, nor a triumph of acting. It's true that this is a star-studded cast, however, there is also a lot of overacting going on. What I saw made me wonder why such frat house behavior among so-called professionals drew IMDb user raves and 13 Cesar award nominations and a Best Film win at Cannes.And then I tracked down Mick LaSalle's San Francisco Chronicle review and he gave me the perspective needed to understand this film. It is this: Maiwenn Le Besco was the model used for Natalie Portman's film debut (at age 12) in The Professional. Maiwenn came to the attention of that film's director, Luc Besson, at age 15 and had his child at age 16. It all makes sense when viewed through that lens.The officers of the children's protective services unit often seem to not like children at all, let alone view their job as one of protection. They are unbelievably rude to children and adults alike, physically violent to the people they bring in for questioning, openly mocking & humiliating of adolescents who've been coerced into sexual acts, have a perpetual chip on their shoulder as to their wider standing within the police force, overreact to most everything, and seem to spend an inordinate amount of time having meals and drinks and evenings out with each other as a group. Many of the user reviews chalk this up to some sort of battle fatigue in a group who takes their job so, so seriously. It seems to me, however, that this is a group of people with open disdain for much of the rest of the population, and each other, and they seem to have the opposite reaction to specific cases as one would expect from a professional investigative officer: hysterically leaping en masse into a citywide search for a woman who has taken a child, perhaps her own, vs. lovingly telling the boy whose coach molested him that the man might one day return to coaching because prison time will have taught him that what he did was wrong. This only makes sense from the perspective of someone who has personal experience with her voice being diminished by those who should have protected her.I notice also that some reviews comment on the ending making no sense and being really rather terrible. It is hard to know which piece of the ending they are speaking about but let me just say that, to me, that last bit with Iris was the most real part of the entire film. I totally understand every aspect of that. Especially with Mick's insight.