A Pure Formality (1994)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

A Masterpiece!

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The incomparable Giuseppe Tornatore, stunning Roman Polanski and magnificent Gerard Depardieu. The only way! How I can't like it!? I like films that make me think and feel ... I was impressed by plot and the style & atmosphere of film. It was incredible – it gets me empathize to the characters from the first to last minute.The screenplay for this film is absolutely amazing - completely unusual story and highly symbolic/philosophical subtext! You spend more than half of the movie thinking it will go one way, but then it absolutely change direction...again and again...If you like good thrillers - you definitely must watch "A Pure Formality"

This is an extraordinarily bizarre film written and directed by the immensely talented Giuseppe Tornatore, who is so well known for CINEMA PARADISO (1988), EVERYBODY'S FINE (1990, see my review), THE LEGEND OF 1900 (1998), THE UNKNOWN WOMAN (2006), and other films. He does not always get it quite right, as for instance with THE STAR MAKER (1995), which I thought misfired somewhat. In this weird, intense and claustrophobic film, Tornatore attempts to keep us on the edge of our seats for the entire time with suspense and tension, but it is only partially successful. The film stars Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski, who confront one another continually throughout the film in an interrogation situation, where Polanski is the 'Commissaire' (police chief) of an obscure place where it is always raining and the ceiling leaks, and Depardieu is the murder suspect. The film is shot in French, despite having an Italian title. DVDs with English subtitles are now very rare, and have become something of a collector's item, for those who want to collect it, that is! I sat through the whole thing and kept wishing Tornatore had pulled it off entirely, but both actors were incapable of the extreme, unrelenting intensity and the vast range of changing emotions required. There are moments when Depardieu is absolutely brilliant, especially when he becomes wistful. But the cascades of alternating confrontation and sympathy between the two men required greater masters of the acting art, and perhaps a more subtle script. Also, the film is deeply depressing and a real 'downer'. All that gloom and dripping water really gets you down after a while. Of course, the story has a profound explanation, the mystery is indeed deeply intriguing and surprising, and it all turns out to make perfect sense, and has a message as well. But to explain that would require discussing the ending, which is against IMDb rules. Anyone interested in Tornatore and his career needs to see this, as it is a one-off. The film is not recommended for light entertainment purposes. In other words, this is a film for cineastes, not for ordinary viewers. Of course, if you have a deep interest in Depardieu and Polanski as actors, you will need to see it, as they never did anything like this before, or since.

This movie is one of the best psychological dramas I have ever seen. The unexpected twist at the end of the story will leave you shocked for many hours,may be days. Even though the story takes place in one place,and it is pretty much a play of two actors, those actors-Gérard Depardieu and Roman Polanski-actors of a world class, make it a powerful performance. The previous reviewer noted that "you expect it to get more and more tense as it goes along; unfortunately, that doesn't happen". That is true to some respect-movie lovers looking for some action may get disappointed. However, the brilliant, clever screenplay written by Giuseppe Tornatore will make you wonder and worry with the main character without even a clue on what was happening to him. This movie is absolutely brilliant. It will take a special place in my collection.

You won't believe it, but trust me: this is the best film ever. I know, it's almost impossible, you could say there are movies like Titanic or something stupid like that, but those are just movies, not moments. Moments that you could never forget.This is an art movie, but not the way you think. It is not like: a white-dressed women dance trough the scene, while pink elephants flying and says: oh' this is my sin, this is my sin, let me be a flower! The meaning of art in this film is that everyone, the director, the actors, the music composer, the editor, the costume designer, the camera man is an artist. A man, who not just doing what he has to do, they make something what is one-off. This movie is thrilling, intelligent, riddling and entertaining, everything what you want from a good crime/thriller, but much more: you have to see this film to understand, what I'm talking about. Pictures, I can't tell, moments, that you have to feel. Don't think that this is an arty film, that has no really message or has no excitement. It's really-really good movie, maybe the best ever, and if you want more from a movie like an action movie can give, than you have to see the „A Pure Formality'*****