A Pure Formality

Onoff, a once famous writer, has withdrawn from the world and lives in self imposed seclusion. One night he is brought to a rural police station, dazed and memory frayed, claiming to have suffered a collapse of recall. The Inspector, a dogged investigator with little patience for theatrics, becomes convinced that Onoff holds the key to a murder that happened off site. Through a tense, claustrophobic interrogation in a bare station, the two men exchange snippets of memory, lies, and hints about a past crime. The director keeps revelations close to the vest, letting mood and performance carry the suspense without tipping toward obvious tricks. No spoilers about where it leads.

Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, the 1994 drama brings together Gérard Depardieu as Onoff and Roman Polanski as the relentless Inspector. An international production, the film showcases Tornatore's lean storytelling and a tense atmosphere that marks a departure from his epics.

Box office details for A Pure Formality are not widely documented, a common fate for European art thrillers of the era. The film is primarily discussed in professional circles and festival retrospectives rather than as a blockbuster performer.

Critics praised the film for its spare, controlled approach that relies on dialogue and face to face confrontation rather than spectacle. It asks how memory shapes truth and who is responsible when recollection fails. Depardieu plays Onoff with quiet vulnerability, while Polanski delivers an icy, authoritative Inspector, turning the interrogation into a study of guilt and perception.

Over the years the film has been cited in discussions of memory driven thrillers and the tension between art and law. The stark, minimal setting and the strong performances have influenced later European detective dramas that favor character psychology over elaborate plot twists. The pairing of Depardieu and Polanski is often highlighted as a standout collaboration.