Les Miserables (2019)

A divorced policeman (Damien Bonnard) moves from a small town to Paris to be closer to his son. He is assigned to an anti-crime unit which patrols one of the poverty stricken areas of Paris where the inhabitants are people of color and mostly Muslim. Directed by Ladj Ly, this is the French language entry in the Best International Feature Film at this year's Oscars. Other than its title and its look at poverty and oppression, it owes nothing to the Victor Hugo novel of the same name although clearly inspired by it. This is a powerhouse of a film that slowly builds to an incendiary (literally) finale. You might have to go all the way back to Spike Lee's DO THE RIGHT THING to find something so explosive. Clearly, racism and police corruption aren't restricted to the U.S. Ly looks at the situation from every angle and no one comes away unscathed and when the film is over, you're likely to feel like you've been tossed around in an overturning car. Some good performances all around especially by Bonnard, Alexis Manenti as his white thug colleague, Djibril Zonga as his black partner and Almamy Kanoute as an ex-con turned Islamic wise man. With Issa Perica and Al Hassan Ly.