Police Beat

A patrol cop on a mountain bike? I decided to see it to enjoy the scenery. But, this movie caught me off guard. I cannot recall a film that better captures the overpowering sense of painful obsession that results from suspicion and jealousy over a separated loved-one. If you have ever slept expectantly with the phone on your pillow, you may know the feeling. In under 2 hours Police Beat faithfully portrays a complex set of emotions which might require a long novel to communicate as effectively. This film made my heart pound. The backdrop of Seattle captures the best of what the city has to offer, with dramatic settings from diverse neighborhoods and artistic lighting. This is a compelling movie for those who love the city of Seattle.

One of the best characters in the whole film was not listed on IMDb. The Bush Assassian was incredibly funny and helped the film get a twist of humor in this dramatic plot. You have the purse snatcher listed whose face was never even seen and Rachel's neighbor...why? What about the rest of the cast that actually had interesting scenes and dialog? I would like to know who the rest of the cast is and where I can find them in the future. There was also a little problem with the sound on the girlfriends messages... did anyone understand what she was saying? Don't get me wrong I think this was a good film but it certainly could have used a little sound work. But I would once again like to state that in the cast listings that ALL cast should be listed not just 8.

Police beat falls into the category of somewhat guilty pleasure for me, though certainly in a different way than most films typically relegated to that category.

It's a pleasure because being a Seattleite it's refreshing to see some of the cities lesser known but quite beautiful locations (gasworks park, for instance) shot beautifully on film for the first time. In addition I have to say that while an argument could be made that the African language narration was pretentious I found it fascinating, if for no other reason than that I always thought the idea of shooting an English language film with an abundance of subtitles would be an amusing experiment. There are also some rather funny scenes scattered throughout the movie, some of which work beautifully and others of which fail.

However it's a guilty one because plot wise it's thoroughly aimless and more than a bit pointless, acting wise it's very inconsistent, and overall it's a weak film. I have to admit a bit of a bias since I'm a volunteer at the place that produced and financed the film (nw film forum) and everyone around here worked on it in some way. The other reviewer's comment that just about everyone in the Seattle film scene worked on this movie isn't an exaggeration. In any case if you get a chance to see it I'd recommend you take it, if for no other reason than to see some beautiful Seattle scenery, a couple hilarious scenes, and more than anything a film experience I can guarantee you won't have had before.

Really one of the most beautiful low-budget films I've ever seen.

The lead actor is very compelling, and the idea of observing American life through an authority figure who is also an immigrant is really striking. And occasionally very funny.

The film as a whole has elements of David Lynch, as well as Linklater's "Slacker." But the sensibility is really not well described through reference to other films. It's really a one-of-a-kind piece of work.

The news in the final credits that all the incidents portrayed in the film were taken from actual police files was strangely disappointing, but when I later learned that the co-writer was the author of a "Police Beat" column in the Seattle alternative weekly, it made total sense.

Honestly, some of the images here are just absolutely singular. You've never seen anything quite like it.

Congratulations to all involved.

I have serious doubts as to if the first reviewer has actually seen this film, or if he is just a disgruntled extra. As I am writing this, the film has only been showed twice.

The film is absolutely hilarious, especially with the some of satire of Seattle opinion. The Bike Cop once types in his computer how he "confronted the tree" then backspace's, and enters "rude tree". I almost fell out of my seat with this scene.

Everything about this film is original. The plot, the cast, the protagonist (Muslim-African Bike Cop?), cinematography, etc. It's truly refreshing to see such an inventive type film come from Seattle.

The entire crowd at the first showing of this film at Seattle International Film Festival loved the film, and I have to assume, the first reviewer has some sort of a "beef" with the director.