It takes a riff from Victor Hugo’s majestically sprawling account of poverty and revolt in 19th century France and it is not given so much an update, or even an official adaptation, as it is a major kick in the head. It is set in the director’s native banlieue of Montfermeil, which is also the setting for parts of the famous novel, the film is something like Hugo’s classic story mixed with The Wire— a gritty and fiery urban thriller underscored by scathing social commentary on the current state of the Paris suburbs, depicted here as a powder keg ready to pop..
It is cops versus the poor. The team of police officers consists of veteran squad leader Chris, aka “the Pink Pig,” a crooked trash-talking cop who operates outside the law to get the job done; Gwada, a more guarded local who follows Chris’ orders without much argument; and newbie Stephane aka “Greaser,” who’s been transferred over from Cherbourg, in Normandy, in order to be closer to his son. Stoic and highly observant, Stephane reflects the observer's view. Lawlessness, or at least a kind of organized criminal hierarchy, rules the land, with various groups competing for territory and forever on the verge of violence is what he sees, and his coworkers throw some gasoline on an already smoldering situation, and it blows up in their face.
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