Stéphane joins the Anti-Crime Brigade of Montfermeil, in the 93. He meets his new teammates, Chris and Gwada, and discovers the tensions between the different groups of the district.
Trouble enters the neighborhood when a baby cub goes missing. Circus owners show up and threaten the mayor (Steve Tientcheu) whom they believe is responsible. Officers Chris (Alexis Manenti), Gwada (Djibril Zonga), and the newbie, named Stéphane “Greaser” (Damien Bonnard), try to prevent a riot between blacks and the gypsies by agreeing to find the missing cub. When a street kid named Issa (Issa Perica) is seen on social media with the animal, the police track him down.
Issa makes a run for it while his buddies try to fight back, even macing one cop in the face. As the chase comes to an end, Issa is cornered and his friends watch as police wrestle him to the ground and shoot him with a flash ball gun. Meanwhile, a kid named Buzz (Al-Hassan Ly) captures the incident on his drone. Worried they will be exposed, Chris orders his team to find Buzz. Greaser does not agree with the way the other officers handle the situation but he follows orders anyway.
Issa is thrown into the back of the car instead of being taken to the hospital as they figure out how to get the video before anyone sees it. Buzz makes a run for Salah (Almamy Kanoute), a respected Muslim store owner in the community who is not afraid of the police. When the team arrives at Salah’s store, they threaten him to hand over the video card. When they see Salah is fearless and does not take their threats easily, Greaser decides to try the respectful approach and eventually gets the memory card but is carefully reminded that it is only a matter of time before the people get tired of the abuse and strike back.
And as promised, by the end of the film, Issa and the youth in the community plot the most amazing attack as they lure the officers to an apartment building and unleash years of suppressed anger. I think about police brutality that is rapid particularly through impoverished black communities and can relate to the many who are suppressing pain but quietly awaiting an uprising. I was ecstatic to see such courageous youth say no more and fight back by the end of the film. One of the most powerful endings I’ve seen in this type of story in a long time.
In select theaters Friday, January 10th
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