Dominik Moll is back in Cannes with a new inextricable dilemma with a strong social-political background, “Case 137”. It is his third selection in the prestigious competition (he ran for the Palme d’Or in 2000 with “Harry, He’s Here to Help” and in 2005 with “Lemming”)
Three years ago, the quietly cult German-French director presented the terrific thriller doubling as a police procedural “The Night of the 12th” in the Cannes Premiere sidebar. With “Case 137”, he goes back to a police unit to observe how very real and very complex social issues are dealt with in those lacklustre police offices. This time, the main character, Stéphanie (brought to life in another flawless performance for Léa Drucker), is a police inspector working for internal affairs who is digging into a serious case of police brutality, in the wake of the Yellow Vests Protests, and finds herself – as both sides of the larger scale conflict keep standing their ground without budging – in a lonely position, stuck between a rock and a hard place, and in a procedural cul-de-sac, whilst an ever-expanding flow of videos and CCTV images help her as much as they hinder her investigation.
Dominik Moll tells us more about the situation and what led him to want to construct this nuanced film about the police and its place in society around an internal affairs inspector. He mentions how shocking certain cases of police brutality were, describes the panick caused by the Yellow Vests Protests for the authorities in place – or any movement now, including a cinematic recreation of a demonstration, as revealed by an anecdote that happened during the shoot! The director also points out the immediate need for the people in power to prevent demonstrations completely, and therefore the impossibility of dialogue, and underlines how images of all kinds have entered the picture.
