Journalist David Dufresne’s first theatrical feature is a devastatinglytimely investigation of the place of police in democracy and thelegitimacy of violence. Primarily composed of smartphone imagesfilmed at recent demonstrations in France, the film presentsa viscerally shocking picture of police brutality and proteststransformed into scenes of urban warfare. But Dufresne alsoallows us a deeper engagement with what we see by confronting awide variety of participants in one-on-one conversations, a diverseassortment which lends the film several levels, ranging fromcinéma-vérité to a meticulous examination of the nature of lawenforcement, where anger and cruelty aren’t supposed to interferein “the requirements of the particular circumstances”. Highlymethodical as it asks the question “who has the legitimacy to saysomeone is violent?”, and it analyses the dangerous state of affairsthat emerges when “legality is erased by the suspicion of illegality”,this compelling approach, intellectual yet never Manichean,is further underpinned by powerful emotional components. Ashattering and intelligent documentary, The Monopoly of Violenceis nothing short of essential viewing, notably as it reminds us that“democracy isn’t but dissensus” and that we should build bridgesrather than walls…
NYFF 2020