Polisse 2011

A.O. Scott, New York Times: [A] long, unruly, gripping film. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: 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. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Whatever you think of it, you won't be neutral. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Polisse has trouble sometimes hiding the seams between the two, but when it works, it doesn't look like it's being staged at all. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Sure, you've seen this sort of material before -- comparisons to HBO's "The Wire" are frequent and obvious -- but when it's done right, as it is here, it's gripping. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: All the tears I shed were hard-earned. So were all the laughing and clapping and eye-covering. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Rarely does one see a movie so knowing in some respects and so clueless in others. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Over the film's more-than-two-hour running time we are immersed in the lives of these cops as they attempt both to see justice done and to preserve their sanity. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The film can be rambling and glib, yet it's no mere crime drama. It captures a middle-class French society that looks more humane than ours, but is just as messed up. Read more

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: Inspired by a documentary, the film is shot with verite immediacy and beautifully acted by an outstanding ensemble. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: [It] reveals, in a time of political turbulence, some of the subtle peculiarities of French society. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: As humane as it is disturbing, Polisse rifles the files of Paris' Child Protection Unit in search of successes, failures and all the shades of ambiguity in between. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: The details will gut you, and then haunt your dreams. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: While never exploitative, "Polisse" can be extremely disturbing. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: The mosaic of cases and caseworkers is like a season of The Wire distilled into two hours. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The film's director and co-writer is Maiwenn, an actress and now third-time filmmaker, who is accomplished at following several story lines and weaving them together. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A fascinating multicharacter drama about the police who work in Paris' child protection unit. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Bluntly edited, with no hand-holding transitional scenes, the film is an intimate portrait of an idealistic, understaffed, sometimes wrongheaded team battling youth prostitution, thievery rings and adult predators from every class of society. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Polisse" draws us uncomfortably close to a taboo subject then rewards us with real nourishment. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: Has an infectious energy and aims for a bottom-up, slice-of-life air characterised by naturalistic performances and a fly-on-the-wall shooting style. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: If there's one thing this Cannes-feted drama portrays incisively, it's the porousness of the characters' existence: Work bleeds into life and life into work, wreaking havoc on their respective moral compasses. Read more

Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic: [O]ne of the best based-on-facts police pictures. Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Variety: As in her previous efforts, Maiwenn coaxes terrific, naturalistic perfs from her ensemble without eschewing the extreme emotional highs and lows that could have led to more caricatured turns. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: The strange, unsettling juxtapositions, even when mashing up the mawkish and mockery, are full of life. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's messy, boring, funny, suspenseful, touching, jubilant and tragic. Read more