Polisse - Ending Explained

The film concludes with a devastating juxtaposition: a young boy gymnast, a victim of abuse, successfully completes a backflip, symbolizing recovery and the 'resilience' of childhood. This is cross-cut with Iris throwing herself from a window to her death just after being promoted. This reveals the film's final message: while the children might be saved and move on, the 'protectors' are the ones who are permanently broken by the weight of the cases they carry. Iris's suicide is triggered by a combination of her promotion (which separates her from the 'family' of the unit), her anorexia, and a final realization that the work never ends—there is always another child, but there is no more of 'her' left to give.

While most see Iris's ending as a direct result of professional burnout, some critics interpret it as a commentary on the isolation of the modern woman; her anorexia and the loss of her partner suggest that her identity was too tied to a job that offered no emotional return. Another reading suggests the film is a critique of the observer effect: that the presence of the camera (Melissa) forced the officers into 'performative' emotions, eventually leading to the unit's psychological fracture.