Oussekine

A resounding drama about police violence and state terrorism, but above all about the racism impregnated in French society. It is a series that practices a necessary Manichaeism, that strives to give the exact place to the consequences of an act of irrational violence, covered up by the government. And that places Oussekine in the emotional center to give identity to those who were denied.

The disappearance of Malik Oussekine in 1986, beaten to death by policemen was to France what in recent years the death of George Floyd was to the USA. It jump started a strong anti-racist movement, led to anti-discriminatory laws, which where then promptly forgotten by those in charge of applying them.

The story here is told in a modest way, following the family of the victim and their fight for justice. Truth be told, the directing could have been more energetic, and the editing more dynamic; on the other hand the fact that all of story is told in a subdued way conveys the distress that these people felt in face of tragedy and injustice and their quiet dignity in front all all of it.

In the aftermath of the incident it's worth to note that the police unit responsible for the death of Oussekine, the "peloton de voltigeurs motorisés (PVM)" was dismantled. However it's since been resuscitated in 2018 in the aftermath of the "Gilets Jaunes" movement with the DAR, that were then perennialized in 2019 with the "Brigades de répression de l'action violente motorisées" (BRAV-M) (and yes the acronym spelling more or less 'brave" is no coincidence).

So the fact that this story resurfaces and is told today could be considered as a warning against the unbridled violence that can be unleashed by policemen when they are not held accountable. [spoiler](spoiler, they're not, neither in the film, nor in real life)[/spoiler].

It's a tragedy, what happened to the young man.
But I must say, the mini series is absolutely boring. The bad acting and bad story telling leads to me having no sad feelings or sympathy for the family.