Late Night With the Devil

Play Trailer

Polisse

Trailer

ASTONISHING. What makes it such a singular experience is the convergence of fine acting, moral urgency and a willingness to linger on moments of great intensity.

— Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

WORKS LIKE GANGBUSTERS, if this were a TV series, I'd gladly return each week. Maïwenn has found a way to touch on her country's issues regarding race, gender, the vulnerability of children and how the law works (or doesn't) in a way that's entertaining and accessible.

— David Fear, Time Out New York

THRILLING... I felt the movie's energy bond itself to mine. I wanted to go wherever Maïwenn wanted to take me. Her filmmaking paces and perceives the way Frederick Wiseman's does. Her transparency simulates his. It's as if she's taken one of his documentaries about systems and their discontents and added Sidney Lumet's grit, naturalism, and fireworks.

— Wesley Morris, The Boston Globe

POLISSE delivers the same absorbing, sprawling narrative as a good prime-time cop drama, delving into the lives of its tough, compassionate protagonists with a bracing combination of moral outrage and breathtaking hilarity.

— Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post

Presented by Sundance Selects | France | May 18th, 2012 | 127 MINS | UR

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and nominated for 13 César Awards, POLISSE follows the daily lives of a tight-knit team of men and women working in the Child Protection Unit of the Parisian police. Basing her richly textured script on real child investigation cases, writer- directoractor Maïwenn has gathered an accomplished ensemble cast of French actors who convey the emotional strain of the unit’s work with gritty realism. They not only deal with the stress of their jobs but the inevitable fall-out in their personal lives – breakdowns, divorce and adulterous relations within the force. In between, there are frequent flashes of humor as the team attempts to diffuse daily realities. As the cases, confessions and interrogations pile up, the squad members have only each other as support as they face an uphill battle against both criminals and bureaucracy.

Director

  • Maïwenn

Producer

  • ALAIN ATTAL

Writers

  • Maïwenn
  • Emmanelle Bercot