SYNOPSIS

The daily grind for the police officers of the Child Protection Unit - taking in child molesters, busting underage pickpockets and chewing over relationship issues at lunch; interrogating abusive parents, taking statements from children, confronting the excesses of teen sexuality, enjoying solidarity with colleagues and laughing uncontrollably at the most unthinkable moments. Knowing the worst exists and living with it. How do these police officers balance their private lives and the reality they confront every working day? Fred, the group’s hypersensitive wild card, is going to have a hard time facing the scrutiny of Melissa, a photographer on a Ministry of the Interior assignment to document the unit.

PROGRAM NOTE

 French actress and filmmaker Maïwenn\'s third feature
 film, Polisse portrays the daily routine of members of
 the Child Protection Unit of the Parisian Police in a
 documentary style. While debuting as an investigative
 television program, many critics suggests that it be
 cut down to a two hour film, and as such the film
 does not have a central narrative but is instead a
 collection of episodes dealing various crimes against
 children including child abuse, paedophilia, child
 smuggling, and incest. Child-related crimes are often
 perpetrated by the very parents and teachers who
 are close to them. In each case there is a victim and a
 perpetrator, but finding the solid truth veiled by vague
 details is not an easy job when it comes to crimes
 occurred within close relationships. Especially in case
 of domestic crime, law enforcement often reach a
 deadlock due to issues such as cultural differences,
 exclusive privacy, and the credibility of childrens\'
 testimony. These child-related crimes are hard to
 get to the truth and leave a bitter taste, affecting the
 lives of the police officers. The team members chat
 and sometimes harshly argue with each other, as if
 they are pouring out their own frustration onto each
 other; some suffer from marriage crisis and some
 secretly have romantic feelings for their coworkers.
 This film doesn\'t support the simple and clear logic of
 crime versus righteous conviction and heroism of law
 enforcement, but instead witnesses the lives of the
 officers who are influenced by the crimes they face
 every day. Especially through its astonishingly scary
 ending, the film makes viewers dwell on the limitations
 of law enforcement and ironies of life. [LEE Jeeheng]