The film creates a deeply rooted sense of realism that contrasts the austere, surreal illustrations.
It finds its filmmaker lost between impulses to pay homage, play it safe, or offer something—anything—new.
Polisse is about broken people, using their interactions with damaged institutions as fuel for their own cyclical struggles.
Even when the film hits on some shrewd truths, it always feels timid about digging too deeply into its characters’ inner lives.
Autodidact Valérie Donzelli proves that she can make a better Tiny Furniture than Lena Dunham.