Director/co-writer Robinson Devor's "Police Beat" is an existential cop movie that's both fresh and fascinating.
A new arrival to the rain drenched, hard streets of Seattle from his home in West Africa, a rookie bicycle cop named "Z" (Pape S. Niang, in a note-perfect performance) goes through his bizarre, mind-numbing routine every day, encountering a variety of wackos, some more dangerous than others.
Yet "Z" is only partly there--he anxiously awaits a call from his new white girlfriend who may be two-timing him, and he feels totally rootless, far from home, as if on another planet. And we feel we're right there with him.
This strange but involving mood-piece about loneliness and isolation is a keeper.
