Policeman

Released Jun 13, 2014

1h 45m

Drama

List

61%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

47%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

A member of an Israeli anti-terrorist unit clashes with young radicals.

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Chris Nashawaty

Entertainment Weekly

The slow-building import nicely captures the macho, band-of-brothers bond. But that's the only spark this otherwise chilly and remote film has to offer.

Dec 3, 2014

Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

AV Club

Policeman creates contrasts between families and surrogate families; patriarchy and maternity; truth and fiction; and sanctioned and unsanctioned aggression.

Rated: A-

Jun 19, 2014

Full Review

Richard Brody

New Yorker

Lapid's workmanlike direction illustrates his airless script efficiently, and sometimes engagingly, but unimaginatively. He has something to say; he shows very little.

Jun 16, 2014

Full Review

Hannah Brown

Jerusalem Post

This is a lifeless filmschool exercise, an A+ final project that is utterly uninvolving. But the director has made it with such style, that he has lulled many into thinking it is a great film.

Mar 22, 2016

Full Review

Jules Brenner

Cinema Signals

Staging of scenes, klutzy editing and what I suspect are actors self-directing, challenges the storytelling and its uniformity.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 23, 2014

Full Review

Mike Goodridge

Screen International

Policeman is a notable debut from young Israeli film-maker Nadav Lapid which packs quite a punch.

Jun 11, 2014

Full Review

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walter m

While some might be disappointed that "Policeman" does not resemble an average fast-paced episode of "Flashpoint," the movie's deliberate pace does allow for a thoughtful examination of today's Israel and the fractures that exist just beneath the surface. While the police and terrorists might not seem to have anything in common, they actually do, in that they resolve their disputes through violence. Yaron(Yiftach Klein) is the leader of an elite police unit who is also soon to be a father. As such, he looks after his wife Nili's(Meital Barda) every need, even carrying her very pregnant person up several flights of stairs. He is also lecherous enough to hit on a waitress who it turns out is only 15. Ariel(Gal Hoyberger), one of his comrades, has a tumor and the other men in the unit pity him before shifting the blame on a massacre onto him, albeit with his approval. By contrast, the terrorists do make some valid points. However, Shira(Yaara Pelzig), their spokesperson, is about the only stereotype in a movie full of three dimensional characters, as she seems to be a spoiled young otherwise undecided rich woman who is simply involved in the movement as a way of rebelling against her parents. But Pelzig's fierce performance makes up for some of that. With an intriguing structure that stays exclusively with each group for an act, I am still a little befuddled by the movie's final shot, like I missed something I should have been paying attention to earlier.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

IT'S RAINING MANLY MEN: My take on the movies The Rover and Policeman http://ow.ly/y8byM

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Only gets interesting in the last half hour

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An apparent attempt to dig underneath and subvert stereotypes of macho police instead immerses itself in them nearly to the point of parody. The structure, avoiding the more common technique of inter-cutting stories, instead presents them, for the most part, in two segments, followed by a third in which they are somewhat inter-cut as they converge. The performances are fine. The story good enough. But there's not much especially noteworthy here.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Good directorial debut, but the characters are not quite convincing, very "petit bourgeois" and not smart enough to obtain our sympathy.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Policía ganó en el BAFICI de 2012 en las categorías de Mejor Película y Mejor Director además de otros premios dentro del circuito de festivales; ahora, dejando de lado el reconocimiento, Policía es un relato breve que se apega a lo que sucede dentro de la sociedad israelí, mostrando así un retrato desde el punto de vista de los que hacen cumplir la ley y de los que la infringen. Es una película que maneja un ritmo lento que se aleja del estereotipado policiaco de acción y persecuciones, que incluye además una crítica fuerte a los jóvenes y sus ideas contestarias que por lo general en ciertas circunstancias derivan en el fracaso. Se deja ver, en especial por las actuaciones que están a todo dar.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Nadav Lapid

Director

Michael Aloni

Nathanael

Meital Barda

Nili

Yiftach Klein

Yaron

Shaul Mizrahi

Hila

Michael Moshonov

Oded

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Synopsis

A member of an Israeli anti-terrorist unit clashes with young radicals.

Director: Nadav Lapid
Screenwriter: Nadav Lapid
Distributor: Corinth Film
Production Co: HOT, Laila Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Hebrew
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 13, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 28, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.4K
Runtime: 1h 45m

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