by Geoffrey Churchman

This entry in the 2026 French Film Festival was recommended by a reader as it deals with the subject of police misconduct and the special division within the French National Police, the IGPN, that investigates it.

It’s a topic that became very prominent in NZ from the protests against the Jacinda regime’s ‘vaccine’ mandates of 2021 that resulted in a large anti-mandate camp outside Parliament during February-March 2022 and which Speaker Trevor Mallard along with Comrade Jacinda ordered the then Police Chief Coster to remove by any means necessary. The difference was that while public protests in France (and sometimes in Britain) often turn violent, the NZ event was perfectly peaceful, so Comrade Jacinda/Mallard together with Coster decided to use agents provoctateurs to frame them.

Although the particular story of Dossier 137 shown is fictional, it is set during the period of the Gilets Jaunes (yellow vests) protests of 2018-2020 during Macron’s first term and actual incidents when the riot squad overstepped the line and indulged in gratutious thuggery.

Originally intended to incapacitate violent individuals without penetrating the skin, LBD (Lanceur de Balle de Défense) weapons are highly controversial. Protests (such as the Gilets Jaunes) have resulted in severe injuries and eye loss, leading to ongoing public debate and calls for bans.

It shows a family heading from the town of St Dizier heading in a mini-van to participate in a protest and a phone video of them singing along. One of them, a 20 year-old gets whacked in the head by a ball from a LBD gun (see picture) which causes severe skull and brain injury. An official complaint is laid as you would expect, it was on a side street away from the main action.

Léa Drucker plays Stéphanie, an Internal Affairs police officer who is assigned the case and when she discovers that the victim hails from her hometown of Saint-Dizier, the case suddenly becomes far more personal. Stéphanie soon finds herself isolated in a system hellbent on protecting its own. Street surveillance cameras show an intriguing photo of someone apparently filming the incident on a phone camera from an upper room of a hotel in the street. She learns it was a housekeeper and reluctant witness Alicia Mady (Guslagie Malanda), whose video holds the key to the truth — but she is concerned about retaliation.

This compelling crime drama highlights themes of loyalty versus justice that resonate long after the final scene. It was an Official Selection at the Festival de Cannes (in Competition) and Léa Drucker’s commanding role won a Best Actress César.

I found there’s really nothing to fault; the script is excellent as are the performances; there are no plot-holes and everything is credible. The subject may not be great entertainment, but it is one that people need to be aware of, particularly in Europe where protests against the insidious nature of the EU and Nato are sure to get more strenuous and the autocrats react with increasing subjugation. 9/10.

Case 137 (117 minutes) may make the independent cinema circuit in NZ, but it’s worth watching for on the movie streaming channels.