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THE POLICEWOMAN

Fresh from the police academy, 27-year-old policewoman Anne has been posted to one of the bleakest precincts in the country: poverty and neglect amidst gray high-rises and empty streets. Anne's colleagues appreciate her uncomplicated manner and cheerful disposition. She fits in well with the team, and w'th her partner Mike in particular. Seeing the gruff but kind-hearted cop at work, the lonely young woman feels attracted to him, even though he is married and the father of two children. Troubled by her feelings for Mike. and increasingly concerned with the people she tries to help, Anne begins to lose her objectivity and distance towards chme. She is particularly moved by the fate of little Benny, a ten-year-old shoplifter from a broken home. Not only does Anne visit Benny at home and buy him a birthday gift, she also seeks out the boy's natural father, inciting him to spend more time with his son. The man, a small-time Russian crook, touches the sensitive policewoman with his heartrending stories. When she and her partner catch him with stolen goods one night, she deliberately lets him go. Instead of thanking her, he steals her gun and the police car. But by this time, Anne's life has already begun to spin out of control -and no one knows where it will end... The film's gritty realism reflects director Andreas Dresen's longtime experience as a documentary filmmaker. Dresen made his inter-national feature-film breakthrough with the drama "Nachtgestalten" (1998), which won several awards and obtained five nominations for the 1999 German Film Prize.

Germany, 2000, 95 min.
Directed by Andreas Dresen
Cast: Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Axel Prahl, Paul Gruba