Set against the backdrop of mass protests in Paris, Case 137 follows Stéphanie, a meticulous internal affairs investigator working on the case of a teenager severely wounded by police fire. As she searches for the truth her inquiry collides with institutional resistance and pressure mounts as the case takes a personal turn when she discovers the victim is from her hometown.
The Garden Cinema View:
Police investigating police brutality is a compelling premise in itself, and Case 137 makes the most of it. The film excels at putting its protagonist in a difficult position: labelled a snitch by colleagues, distrusted by a disillusioned public, and confronted by the grieving mother of the victim. It is a lose-lose situation, and Léa Drucker plays it with remarkable poise.
Austere, focused, and resolutely anti-sensationalist, Dominik Moll’s directorial restraint borders on the monastic, and it is exactly what gives the film its integrity and weight.
