DOSSIER 137. A One-in-a-Million Case [REVIEW]

The year 2018 posed an unprecedented challenge for officers of the French uniformed services. As the whole of Europe turned its eyes toward the bloodily suppressed protests of the Yellow Vests movement, the pressure to immediately silence citizens voicing demands inconvenient to the government became a matter of “do or die” for the reputation of the French police. The archival clips of street riots and brutal arrests that open Dossier 137 transport us to this critical turning point in France’s contemporary socio-political situation. They succinctly depict the controversial nature of the subjective enforcement of justice by officers deployed on the streets—clearly overstepping the flexible definition of “necessary defense”—who, despite this, appear untouchable when it comes to facing justice themselves.
Among hundreds of accusations of police misconduct that ended up in the shredder as quickly as they landed on the desks of forensic experts, Stéphanie (portrayed masterfully by Léa Drucker), an experienced officer tasked with interrogating colleagues about abuse of power, becomes fixated on the case of an unarmed protester being maimed. The harrowing details of the investigation soon upend her moral compass and open her eyes to the appalling thirst for vengeance and manipulation driving officers who are shielded by a massive code of silence.
When her twelve-year-old son Victor asks her one night why the whole country seems to hate the police, Stéphanie still tries to justify the actions of her fellow officers—officers whose every move she analyzes daily, trying to determine whether emotions pushed them a step too far while patrolling the yellow-tinged streets of Paris. She has yet to realize how desperately she’s trying to convince herself of the righteousness of those who aim their weapons and fire tear gas at unarmed civilians who pose no threat to public safety. Her perspective begins to shift drastically when the mother of a young man shot by the police walks into her office. The young man, now permanently disabled due to the ruthlessness of her colleagues, was merely a bystander.
The officers, well-trained in manipulation and vague testimony, deny excessive use of force—even as Stéphanie independently gathers solid evidence of their crime, including seemingly indisputable footage of the incident. Yet even this visual proof of the shooting of 20-year-old Guillermo is twisted by the police in ways so absurd they border on comical to the outside observer.
Though elements of dark humor—such as the surreal interrogations of five Parisian officers or Stéphanie’s attempts to find solace from the brutality she faces at work—intermittently lighten the harrowing Dossier 137, director Dominik Moll maintains a constant undertone of philosophical reflection. He questions the very nature of justice, the impunity and untouchability of public services, and the systemic erasure of thousands of victims of the Yellow Vest protests—silenced through legislation and wiped from police records.
Perhaps it’s because Guillermo’s family comes from her hometown, and the case suddenly takes on a deeply personal dimension, that Stéphanie makes it her mission to challenge the actions of a group of officers who pointed their weapons at two fleeing boys. When one of them falls, choking on his own blood, the group’s leader kicks him in the stomach. Despite meticulous ballistic analysis and Stéphanie’s determination—fueled by over two decades of service and growing disillusionment with professional hypocrisy—it remains impossible to determine whose shot hit the boy. Consequently, no one is charged. In fact, the released officers are greeted outside the detention center like Roman victors. “Arrest both of them or hold their superiors accountable!” shouts the injured boy’s mother. But it’s hopeless. The police, set on crushing civil disobedience, have no intention of punishing their own—even when evidence leaves no room for doubt and the theories spouted by police leadership verge on grotesque parody.
In Dossier 137, Dominik Moll presents a humanistic, empathetic yet unsentimental perspective on the struggles of marginalized communities in modern France, while also exposing the widespread government tactics—far from unique to the Republic—used to swiftly suppress inconvenient, easily intimidated cases. The gripping script holds attention not just through its compelling criminal investigation but also its refreshingly straightforward narrative, exploring the razor-thin line between good and evil, defense and aggression, justice and merciless vengeance. The reflection that emerges from this story, inspired by true events, is profoundly bleak and—perhaps more disturbingly—entirely reflective of systemic dysfunction beyond just the French police. If you’re not with us, you’re against us. And if you’re against us, we’ll forge a pact so powerful you won’t be able to defend yourself.
Premiering at Cannes, Moll’s drama offers a grim vision of the state-citizen relationship, exposing the inner workings of the French justice system and a code of silence impervious even to the strongest evidence. Dossier 137 is a story about asking uncomfortable questions, confronting mass-denied truths, the painstaking pursuit of justice, and the bitter realization that even the most determined, idealistic investigation may be doomed to fail.