A Pure Formality

A Pure Formality - 2003-03-12. Director: Giuseppe Tornatore. Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Roman Polanski. Italy, 1995, color, 111 minutes. In this captivating and engaging film, described as a story between "Columbo" and "Kafka," two great independent cinema actors face off against each other. The story begins with the arrest of Gérard Depardieu as "Onaf," a famous French novelist, who is found breathless and in a state of severe anxiety in a small town near his home. Although he has not yet been informed of the reason for his arrest, the local police call for assistance from the central police department, which sends an expert detective to investigate Onaf regarding a dismembered body found around his house. Almost all of the story's action takes place in the police station, where the two parties involved attempt to reconstruct reality through confrontations, recollections, and reviews of what has happened outside. However, this resembles more of a cat-and-mouse game than a genuine investigation of a criminal case. Utilizing flashbacks, distortion of reality, and resorting to lies, these two skilled adversaries delve into the depths of truth until they finally uncover its secrets before the astonished eyes of the viewer. This is a summary of the film's story, which serves as an excuse for a masterful cinema maestro to explore greater truths of life. Truths such as the nature of memory and the human ability to reconstruct reality, along with philosophical issues reminiscent of Kafka's and Beckett's philosophical notes. Accompanied by the spine-tingling music of Ennio Morricone, A Pure Formality is a shocking drama from a master of cinema.