It's not so much a slice of life as it is a forceful chop, a violent confrontation that will turn off most people long before they can bridge any sort of divide.

It's not on the level of M*A*S*H or The Hospital, but The Divide (La Fracture) keeps you on your toes with its frenetic look at a besieged Paris emergency room hospital staff.

Appraising her country's various ills with a healthy dose of Gallic gallows humor, [filmmaker Catherine Corsini] has delivered a kind of screwball comedy full of physical gags, rat-a-tat dialogue and intricate choreography.

The Divide is an intense snapshot of one night in a French A&E department on the night of a yellow vests protest, juggling political and societal themes.