Flint Town

I was afraid that Flint Town would be a recruitment video heroizing the American police and celebrating their militarisation. However, the image that the series offers is more complex than that and testifies to the creators’ ambition to shoot something like a documentary version of The Wire. ___ Over the course of eight episodes, we follow an underfunded police department in a city with one of the highest crime rates in the United States. Members of the force speak openly about their fatigue, disillusionment and fear of losing their lives and jobs. Their loved ones also fear for the cops’ lives due to the growing number of attacks on police officers. Locals, who face guys with loaded rifles strolling around courtyards, from which they sometimes shoot, then complain that they often have to wait for several hours for a police patrol, because shooting was reported at three other locations at the same time. The community’s mistrust makes sense, but we see that individuals will not change much without support from those in higher positions of power. ___ The behaviour of the officers in the field occasionally borders on unjustified bullying and the documentary does not in any way makes excuses for them. At the same time, however, we understand their heightened vigilance and we know that they are poorly paid and have to work overtime. The police chief attempts to prevent the further deterioration of the already restricted conditions by all possible means, for example by selling discarded police weapons to Flint residents with valid gun licenses, which is a decision that probably best illustrates the absurdity and cyclical nature of the crime problem… The presidential election (the series began production in November 2015) is approaching, and while the “white” segment of the police force hopes for a Trump victory, which they expect to bring greater investment in the repressive apparatus, the black police officers wonder for whom Trump actually wants to make America “great again”. ___ A large part of the material was shot at night; the cameraman delights in grand details and artistic compositions with an orange night sky and figures standing alone in the landscape, ominous atmospheric music plays in the background, and we hear the heartbeat of a cop’s unborn child. At times, it is reminiscent of Michael Mann’s noir thrillers; at other times, it brings to mind an apocalyptic horror movie about a city that is just waiting for someone to set it ablaze. In some ways, Flint Town is excessively tense, but it is in any case an impressive and beneficial work that, overall, adroitly balances on the thin ice and attempts not to anger either conservative or liberals too much. (20.08.2018)