''Police Beat'' is a 2005 American crime film directed by

Robinson Devor Robinson Devor is an American film director, screenwriter and editor. He is also a film professor at Cornish College of the Arts. Devor has directed both documentaries as well as fiction films; his filmography includes narrative works such as '' ...

and written by

Charles Mudede Charles Tonderai Mudede (; born February 8, 1969) is a Zimbabwean writer, filmmaker,Patricia O'Brien (a.k.a. OlallieLake)Charles Mudede short documentary film. Uploaded to YouTube 2007-07-27. Accessed 2012-12-20. and leftwing cultural critic. Tho ...

. It follows the life of an African-born Seattle bicycle officer simply known as "Z" for a week. While Z goes about on his policing duties, he finds himself mentally preoccupied with his girlfriend who has gone on a camping trip with an old male friend. This obsession with the absence of his girlfriend and the escalating jealousy and paranoia makes him unfazed by the crimes he witnesses, which take place in locations all over Seattle (including the

Arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

Gasworks Park Gas Works Park is a park located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant, located on the north shore of Lake Union at the south end of the Wallingford ne ...

in Wallingford, and the Boeing factory in Renton) on different levels of depravity. The story is narrated by Z in his native Wolof language (the language of Senegal and parts of Mali, the

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

, Cote d'Ivoire, and

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

), though he makes the transition to English when interacting with those around him. ''Police Beat'' provides an interesting glimpse into the life of a new immigrant to the United States that focuses less on the protagonist's experience as a new citizen and more on his response to life in an American city. His observation of both human vice and social outlook is contrasted with his conservative sense of duty, both to his work as a police officer and his relationship with his girlfriend. Based on real police reports that appeared in Charles Mudede's column "Police Beat" for the weekly '' The Stranger'', the film also provides a snapshot of Seattle in the early 21st century.

References

External links

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''Police Beat''
at Rotten Tomatoes 2005 crime drama films Films set in Seattle 2005 films Fictional portrayals of the Seattle Police Department American crime drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-crime-drama-film-stub