Satire and mockery of the police are common in French films, from Godard's Breathless to Luc Besson's Nikita, Subway, Leon: The Professional, Taxi Driver, and even a trilogy I saw in the UK. But when it comes to portraying the police in an extreme negative light, Jean Gounam's Dobermann takes the cake.
In Dobermann, you'll feel a sense of satisfaction when the police are shot, and you might even sympathize with or admire the robbers. Although the robbers are ruthless and bloodthirsty, their victims are only the police. In this film, the main police characters are depicted as despicable, cruel, and perverted individuals. On the other hand, the robbers show genuine, kind, and humane sides outside of their confrontations with the police. One of the most humorous scenes is during the bank robbery, where the terrified bank employees lie down or kneel on the ground. However, the robber patiently explains to a deaf and blind old lady what they're doing. In stark contrast, a policeman who rushes in gets brutally beaten, almost having his head smashed in. In fact, compared to the later brutal and crazy policeman, this honest and rule-abiding policeman is almost like an angel. When the gang leader Dobermann tries his best to rescue his girlfriend and companion in trouble, the police chief doesn't care about his subordinates' lives and even uses them as cover. The bad policemen in Leon: The Professional are more neurotic and crazy, while in Dobermann...