Una pura formalità (1994)

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Writers:

Giuseppe Tornatore (story)
Giuseppe Tornatore (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Onoff is a famous writer who hasn't published any new books for quite some time and has become a recluse...

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Existentialism | Amnesia | Surrealism

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Gérard Depardieu	...	Onoff
Roman Polanski	...	Inspector
Sergio Rubini	...	Andre, the Young Policeman
Nicola Di Pinto	...	Captain
Tano Cimarosa	...	Servant
Paolo Lombardi	...	Marshall
Maria Rosa Spagnolo	...	Paula
Alberto Sironi
Giovanni Morricone
Mahdi Kraiem
Massimo Vanni
Sebastiano Filocamo

Also Known As:

A Pure Formality (USA)
Une pure formalité (France)
Простая формальность (Russia) [ru]
A Simple Formality (Sweden) (video title) [sv]
Apli diatyposi (Greece) [el]
Eine reine Formalität (Germany) [de]
Keskiyön totuus (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Pura formalidad (Spain) [es]
Puszta formalitás (Hungary) [hu]
Uma Simples Formalidade (Portugal) [pt]
Una pura formalidad (Argentina) (video title) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief shocking violence and momentary language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Australia:M | Italy:T | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | USA:PG-13 | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Sixth Sense (1999)

Very impressive sleeper

'A Pure Formality' was, to my surprise, one of the very best films I've seen in a long time. I'd seen snippets of the Italian version on Italian TV and the English-language one on US cable, neither encouraging me to delve further, but in its original French, with both Polanski and Depardieu voicing themselves, it manages to turn a potentially hoary old psychodrama into something much more life affirming.

Depardieu is the confused great writer arrested in the middle of a rainstorm and taken to a dark, leaking Italian police station where he is interrogated by Roman Polanski's inspector, who also happens to be an ardent fan, over the identity of a murder victim. Naturally, layers of self-deception are gradually pulled away on this long dark night of the soul before it reaches a not entirely unexpected but still remarkably satisfying conclusion. Despite the claustrophobic setting, Giuseppe Tornatore's excellent composition keeps it vividly cinematic, with several memorable moments (the most impressive a beautiful sequence following a song as it floats through the room). The flashbacks are sometimes awkward and I could definitely have done without Depardieu's nudity, but this is still one of the most remarkable films I've seen in recent years. Two-thirds through the movie a power cut hit for two-and-a-half hours, and it was excruciating waiting to get the chance to finish the film.

Very highly recommended indeed.