Una pura formalità

Those who have seen Roman Polanski in his film "The Tenant" will not be surprised by his pitch-perfect acting in "A Pure Formality". Nor will they not exult in his masterful attention to detail that he is famous for (as when he moves a pan of water on the floor with the toe of his shoe as he stares eternally at the source of a ceiling drip).

There are a host of meditations in this film, and have no doubt that this film is pure artistic meditation. The one that concerns me most is the meditation on what constitutes identity, and I would guess that Tornatore might respond that it can be found in one's cosmic gift and calling, whatever that may be. The universal existential problem arises when we mistakenly believe that gift and calling and our very lives have everything to do with ego and all its vain pursuits.

It was a fantastic movie and it has a shocking ending. The performances was great specially Gerard Depardieu. It was one of the best mystery films after The Usual Suspects. And I think it should be in top 250 but it is not.

The direction was brilliant and you can not guess the ending. We can not forget the screen play all of It's words was amazing. All of the film is an investigation but you never feeling tired and I think the direction and screen play make it like this. You see this movie when you have an open mind because it makes some question in your mind. At last: I really enjoyed that and I gave it 10/10

I'll admit I channel-surfed into this gem. Click, and there's Depardieu, soaking wet and haggard, speaking French with English subtitles, in a lovely cluttered room...okay, I'm intrigued. (The room alone is enough to hold my attention; wonderful set dressing.) But moments later, the intrigue deepens. Who's that Inspector, so skeptical yet almost friendly in his interrogation? The actor looks so familiar. And his Inspector is nearly apologetic. Perhaps he's a fan of Depardieu's writer?

Boiled down to its essence, A Pure Formality is two guys talking, but I love two-guys-talking films. I was intrigued enough to avoid the listings and let the credits reveal Roman Polanski as acting the Inspector -- though he'd started his career acting, I'd seen only cameo appearances -- and his succinct performance dictates the pacing more often than not. You gotta like the guy, even though the Inspector's the antagonist to Depardieu's sympathetic and central point-of-view.

The film appeals to me as a writer, worrying if another eloquent phrase will ever flow, as a reader of mysteries and non-fictional criminal law (intertwining cluesmithing; you can keep the gory details), as a fetishist for the French countryside and language, and as a lover of libraries.

A Pure Formality is craftsmanship deserving a stellar DVD release.

I watched this film captured by the presence of Roman Polanski in the credits. The result was very intriguing. Through the reminiscences of famous writer Onoff (Depardieu) and the shrewd interventions of the Inspector (Polanski) the crime is effectively solved. The dialogue is exceptional, and both men's performances are quite good. Basically this is a very interesting and intriguing film, and fortunately not pretentious. Highly recommendable.

Take a deep breath, you cinefillic voyeur! Take a deep breath, sit down comfortably on your couch and think twice before you press play on your remote controller... Think twice since you are about to witness something that has never been seen before... Actually it has been seen later, but in much more unoriginal and uninteresting way. What you are about to witness in this movie is something between ON and OFF; you'll hear one of the greatest movie dialog ever spoken, you'll see thestunning performance of unbelievably excellent Polanski and surprisingly good Depardieu; you'll learn how the direction of the movie is supposed to be handled; you'll realize that you just THOUGHT that you know what is your life turning into... And finally, you'll find out the meaning of word MASTERPIECE.