I'm currently working through
19-2, a Quebecker police drama directed by
Podz. It was later remade in English and stretched out to four series, but originally it was a three-season Francophone show.
On one level it is fairly standard, tropetastic cop fare - chalk-and-cheese partners, strained marriages, nobody-likes-us-we-don't-care attitudes, a sprinkling of flavour-of-the-month topics etc - but there are at least a couple of very strong elements in its favour. Firstly is Grou's exemplary blocking and shot selection: he makes his moving pictures hum with vibrancy, and he lets his quieter moments burn into the screen like painterly compositions. Second is how it is a ghost story. There is no inner dialogue expressed through voiceover, no meaningful conversations between characters, just work banter and occasional, awkward, elliptical beating-about-the-bush when trying (and failing) to address big feelings - instead, everyone is haunted by ghosts. I mean, not
ghosts, but yes, ghosts.
The French-Canadian argot has a real twang to it, and the Québécois setting hits unfamilar notes, which together add to a
familiarity-adjacent vibe - neither full-blown banlieue policier, nor glossy American blueliner, just something... a bit different.
You may be aware of it thanks to its
second season opener which, to be fair, was an exhilarating, pit-of-the-stomach experience. Perhaps even more astonishing is that when the English language version was put into production, Podz was invited back to
remake it with the anglo cast. It's basically exactly the same, with pretty much all the same dialogue (though in a different language), shots, beats and pacing, but somehow better and more powerful, sort of how the set pieces in
Heat are definite improvements on the same ones in
LA Takedown. There's an interesting
side-by-side comparison video: obviously, beware spoilers.
Available on Netflix.
7.1 | Drama
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