A Pure Formality (1994)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Don't listen to the negative reviews

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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"

One word that can sum up this movie is Fantastic!!! The thing about this movie is I wasn't lucky like a few other people over here to watch this movie without expecting anything. I almost knew everything I needed to know about this movie even before I bought the DVD. The movie was a pure cinema in every sense of the word. I expect the movie to contain a decent story, good actors, a little bit of suspense, a little comedy (not mandatory) and a classic ending. This one provided me with all of these things and more. The movie is really a manifestation of some one's mind. The acting is uniformly brilliant. I know Polanski is a decent actor and I loved him in The Tenant, but here he is just pure Master Class.Gérard Depardieu is a legend in France and in International Cinema and he shows in this movie why is that. In a short summary the movie involves a person being questioned for staying out in the woods without any identification. When it turns out to be the Great Writer Onoff who doesn't quite remember how he came to that place. How the Inspector Da Vinci(Polanski) gets out the answer forms the rest of the story. Enjoy the movie except for one scene of crude nudity from Gérard Depardieu. That was scary!!!! I rate this movie 10/10 (inspite of Gérard Depardieu's scary back!!!)

Marvellous work. Demanding of actors, director and audience. The dialogue fills the screenspace, the performances of the two main characters are masterpieces of consistency. I enjoyed it from start to finish and I hope you do as well.The director keeps ratcheting up the tension and letting it fall back using very few devices. It has the feel of a stage play, and would perhaps transfer very well to the theatre. Although some accuse the director of over-complicating things, I find the whole to be satisfying and simple. The lack of clarity of the storyline reflects the confusion in Depardieu's head.If you want non-intellectual action, this film is not for you.

Having watched this movie for the first time in 1994 while at film school, I was struck by the elegant mixture of genres crafted into this film. For any film-maker wanting to prove his or her ability to engage and surprise an audience this film is a must. Most striking (apart from the unbelievable cinematography) is the conundrum like dialogue between characters and the inability as an objective viewer to discern who has the moral high ground until the director allows you such luxury. The pacing of dialogue, and the surreal characters that share the same space as foils to Depardieu and Polanski's characters, hark back to an older more energetic era of film. The performance from both leads should be compulsive viewing for all film students. For those not familiar with Guiseppe Tornatore's work, another must see is the internationally acclaimed Cinema Paradiso which is truly an outstanding piece of work.