A Murder in Abidjan
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A Murder in Abidjan

10.0 / 10 2000 1h 26mNR French
DocumentaryCrime

Storyline

1995. On the outskirts of Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast, a policeman is murdered. Shot outside his vehicle, while his fiancée sits in the car, terrified. Superintendent Kouassi is the detective in charge of the investigation. Tall and lanky, he moves with the tired energy of a man who has seen it all. Drawing on a network of underworld characters with dubious information, Kouassi’s team begins bringing in potential suspects and subjecting them to horrific brutality: beating them with sticks, hanging them upside-down, threatening their lives. Some of the men are left so broken they have to literally drag themselves into Kouassi’s office later, to be interrogated while lying on the floor, their bodies a mess of bruises, broken bones, and lacerations.

What People Are Saying

5.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Mosco Boucault's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
5.0
Every frame feels alive. A Murder in Abidjan is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker