Does one have to be hardcore all the time? A cop that is in the streets of Paris. I am not pretending to know what it is like ... walking that thin line between being respectful but having others treat you with respect too. Especially when it comes to the criminal element on the streets.

But this is where this excels. While we concentrate on the cops mostly, we do get to see the world from every perspective there is. I think people compare it to La Haine, which might be fine, but I was thinking more of The Wire. The latter being American and tv show, but still ... the vibe of showing multiple sides ... and the humanity of both sides is strong in this one.

And when I say humanity ... we mostly see people not being able to actually communicate ... and therefor being stuck. Stuck in a circle of hate, frustration and violence. Something that the director is really capable of showing us. We dive into the whole thing and it is tough to know who to root for ... or rather and that is the tricky part: against! Because you see the police doing shady things, you won't really like them being ... mean to ordinary people.

There is an inciting incident ... well one that will change the world for all involved. And unfortunately that does not seem to be uncommon ... violence begets violence. And it is tough to impossible to break out of it ... but where will it lead? And how can it conclude? Is there hope? And what sacrifice would it take? What would it cost? To the dignity and the soul of those involved ... there is so much here, because it goes beyond the surface.

I stumbled across this by accident, but am more than happy that I did. And I had no idea what this would be about ... I actually thought it was going to be a documentary ... and it sort of begins like one too. But it does change lanes/gears and pace quite fast ... and goes on to tell a story that is one of the most gripping and intense ones I have seen this year ... not easy to watch at all mind you ... still worth every minute of it.

Greetings again from the darkness. Being the new student in school can be an emotionally trying experience for some kids. Now take that pressure and put it in a patrol car for law enforcement in a tough part of town where racial and religious tensions are always on edge. The 'new kid' in this case isn't a kid, but rather an adult cop ... and the experience will eclipse 'trying' and shift directly to life-altering. "Ever since 2005 ..." is a line that reminds us that the Paris riots of that year remain fresh in the minds of locals, and police harassment is applied to most every stop or interrogation. This is an area that has yet to reclaim balance and writer-director Ladj Ly, having grown up in this part of the city, is more qualified than anyone to tell these stories.

Montfermeil is the Paris suburb where Victor Hugo wrote his classic 1862 novel "Les Miserables". Recently divorced Stephane (played by Damian Bonnard) has transferred to the Anti-Crime Squad (ACS) in the area to be closer to his young son. His first day on the new job involves riding on patrol with local officers Chris and Gwada, who are veterans of these streets. Chris (played by Alexis Manenti) is a racist, hardened by the locals who have nicknamed him "Pink Pig". Chris's intimidation methods are old school and iron-fisted. Gwada (played by Djebril Zonga) is an African-Muslim who tries to capitalize on his own roots with locals, even though they now consider him a traitor.

Immediately obvious is the fact that Stephane's 'by-the-book' approach doesn't meld with the forceful posture assumed by Chris and Gwada. "Greaser" is the nickname Chris gives to Stephane, emphasizing that the new cop doesn't fit on the streets or in the patrol car. As the prime example of how this environment can cause a small situation to escalate quickly due to one wrong word or movement, a young thief named Issa takes a lion cub from a travelling circus as a prank. The next thing we know, the Muslim Brotherhood is involved and threats are flooding every interaction, creating tensions for all. When the cops finally track down Issa, an accident occurs that further escalates the tensions between various street factions and the cops. Things get really ugly when it's discovered a young boy captured the event with his drone.

Director Ly opens on citywide excitement at the 2018 World Cup with a backdrop of Paris sites such as The Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. The script from Ly and co-writers Giordano Gederlini and Alexis Manenti doesn't allow us to wallow in the happiness for long. Soon, we are on the streets with the cops in Victor Hugo's (and Ly's) setting - contemporary only in look, not feel or substance. We are dropped into an environment where each moment is dictated by racial-social-political lines. Foot chases, car chases, and confrontations are de rigeur. Disenchantment cloaks kids and adults alike, and the fear of anarchy never wanes. A bad day for Issa turns into maybe the worst ever first day for Stephane. This is one of the year's most incredibly tense and gripping films, and one that leaves us exhausted and dumbfounded. It's a brilliant work.

"Les misérables" is a new French film that runs for 105 minutes and this one is among the biggest players this awards season from Europe. This includes consideration by the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars as well as many other award ceremonies. I loved Tom Hooper's take on the subject from a few years ago, but this one here has nothing in common with that one. Both deliver for different reasons. If you know the traditional "Les Misérables" a bit, you will find some parallels, but if eventually there is nothing that clicks for you except that brief conversation in the car about Victor Hugo, Gavroche and Cosette, then that is fine too. One example for me here really was the parallel between Gavroche and Issa, with violence against both kids really causing everything to fall apart in an endless abyss of destruction. There are differences of course too as Issa is really injured and in danger of being killed by a lion even on one occasion, but he lives. But first things first: This Oscar-nominated movie was written (with others) and directed by Ladj Ly and for him it is a really special project because he grew up exactly where this film takes place, which may be the key reason why it felt very authentic. Another reason is that this is his first full feature film ever and that makes it even more special how well-received this one turned out. And what I personally like a lot is that Ly recast exactly these actors that appeared in a short film with the same title that Ly made initially before he turned it into a full feature film. I never really like if they replace actors, especially if the original ones are certainly good enough for this to become a satisfying outcome. And that is certainly true here. All the actors did a good job, not only the ones at the very center, but also every supporting player really and also the many child actors you will find in here, some of them even playing key characters, most of all the one I mentioned earlier already, but also the boy with the drone for example.

Like I wrote in the title of my review, this is a film that will totally have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. We have a guy who joins the police force in a part of France that really struggles a lot with all kinds of crime, almost all of these connected with immigrants (or at least people with a foreign background),and that involves drugs, prostitution and just violence in general. But there is also more exotic stuff as we find out here when there is a lion cub involved that is stolen from a circus. The two groups clashing over this issue seem really dangerous, but looking at how the film ends, there is definitely another really dangerous group that may initially have not seemed that way. I won't go any further into detail. You must experience that yourself. It is pretty shocking though how the violence escalates more and more and the police is not exactly helping it with how they act in here. We, the audience, are basically in the same spot like the male protagonist, the guy who joins the force, as we know nothing about his new squad, but find out more and more the more time we spend with the guys, the other two officers that is. There is that scene early on with the marijuana-smoking girl that is also featured in the title and already shows us about the aggression from both sides really, but if you thought that this is the one that escalates the most, think again. It was in retrospective even slightly funny how they here made us feel somewhat safe that a day of work is over and they are back at home all of them, the good guys and the bad guys, although this description is not too perfect because they did so well here with giving the characters realistic shades. The one who shoots the kid is really the best example how we see him cry at home and how he calmed that woman down earlier, so she lets him inside, almost trusts him. This is really a good movie, which is also shown by how well it delivers in terms of attention to detail. Just take the protagonist and how he wears his brassard (is that the right word?) that identifies him as a police officer and how his colleagues make fun of that and tell him later on that everybody knows they are cops anyway. There are many more examples of that.

I still find it fascinating or maybe it makes me also a bit sad to see how well France is doing with movies that elaborate on this subject of culture clashes, this time as a gritty crime drama, but also in general becaue immigration has been among the hottest subjects for a really long time now and every time Germany makes a film like that, it normally turns into a big mess that of course must have comedy too like "Willkommen bei den Hartmanns" for example. There are other examples too and 99% of them are really bad. I mean my fellow countrymen cannot be that uncreative while France gets out one excellent film on this subject after the next, even if it is by filmmakers like Ly, who really are not very experienced at all. Shameful really. Anyway, I should be glad France does it this well and it results in quality watches like this one here that are so incredibly tense and have such excellent quality. I also think it is superior to "Parasite", the film that has the foreign language Oscar in the bag now, but then again I am not a big fan of this, and also think Almodóvar's most recent (another nominee in the category) is better than Parasite. I would be so happy if "Les misérables" wins the category, but it is impossible to happen I think. Okay what else can I say about this one here. The running time is also perfect. It feels essential, not too long, not too short. Basically every decision they made here makes sense. What I personally find sometimes a bit difficult is when there are really many characters in a film and frequently they do not get the accurate elaboration and presentation or just feel for the sake of it while adding nothing, but this is also not the case here at all. Every character made sense, even if they just had one or two scenes, and that actually applies to really many characters here. Overall, before I conclude, let me say that despite children, especially one boy (or two),playing a key role here, this is not a film you want to show your small ones. It is way too harsh for that. As you may have seen from my review, I find it very hard to come up with any real flaws here, which also explains my rating I guess. The fact that I for example do not like one bit the ways in which the characters within the unit talk to each other, or in general interact with each other, does not mean they ring false. They don't. They feel pretty authentic. It is just my subjective take that I would not want any of it. So yeah, like I said, it is probably among my top5 films from 2019 at this point. Highly recommended.