Pure water masterpiece! Water, water from the sky in the movie. Cleansing water - in a transshipment point - between hell and paradise! A movie about it. . . - God would be a great writer if he could only describe landscapes. . . - Inspector, what should I write down? - Mr. Onoff said that God is a mediocre author. . A masterpiece! Yeah, I forgot to say, Depardieu sings onoff. .
The film “Simple formality” was shot in 1993, when Roman Polanski is a famous director, Gerard Depardieu is a famous actor.
Onof (Gerard Depardieu), running in the pouring rain in the evening, is detained on suspicion until the arrival of the Commissioner (Roman Polanski). Onof, before the commissioner arrives, takes actions that aggravate his situation. The commissioner appears. Between the two characters begins what can be called an interrogation, or rather a dialogue, during which the knock of a typewriter is heard.
Who's Onof? Is he the one who betrays himself?
After all, the commissioner loves to read, knows by heart excerpts from his favorite books. And this is the peculiarity of the work of Roman Polanski - in the action of some of his films, the book is woven: "The Ninth Gate"; "Ghost" - where the hero is a writer. Or film adaptation of books: "Oliver Twist", "Venus in furs".
The commissioner is quite modest. A modest opinion about his career path, but he thinks clearly, entering into a conversation, dialogue with the suspect, trying to bring out of the confusion, chaos, a clear and clear truth in what happened.
I like the intelligence of the commissioner. Throughout the film, he observes a good tone in dialogue with the suspect, not descending to humiliation, pressure.
It becomes clear that Onof is a talented writer. He's had a crisis in recent years. Gerard Depardieu managed to convey the image of a creative person who has a storm in his soul, like an endless downpour on the street on this endless night. Talent is combined with lapses in memory. He doesn't remember what he did a while ago. Or try to play the role of a forgetful person.
During the dialogue between the commissioner and the writer on this night, the inner world, the soul of the writer, can be revealed to a certain extent. What hurt, tormented. The origins of creativity. Feelings. For example, writing for Onof is salvation, a way of finding peace from inner throwing. This is how the soul of a person, his inner world, can be revealed. Alone. The night. And the commissioner acts like a therapist. There are times when people take the train, talk in the compartment, tell each other about life, ask for advice, and then go out and never see each other again. But the power of council can affect life.
It's hard to make movies like that. Roman Polanski will later have the film Massacre, which is also devoted to dialogue within a closed circle of people, when the inner world, the soul of a person also opens up even from an unexpected side.
10 out of 10
A big man is running somewhere. He is intercepted by the patrol and led to the police station, to the investigator for questioning. Only somehow strange everything there looks like: a mansion in the middle of a deserted forest, a long-standing roof - requires a roofer, no one smokes, and the interrogator is an excellent connoisseur of literature, but read only the works of the accused - seemingly famous author. However, the defendant himself remembers almost nothing from his past life. Is it the police? Has the writer committed any crime? Bad investigator or good investigator? These questions will be answered in a transparent and natural way in the final minutes of the film. The whole film is full of seemingly obvious clues, but the finale personally brought me into a real catharsis.
9 out of 10
Gerard Depardieu today is almost an odious person, in the past a wonderful film actor. Roman Polanski today is just as odious a person (in absentia accused and convicted), and equally remarkable, though not only in the past, a film director. And here we have a movie with both of them, and from the past, from the time when both were on the crest of the wave. We begin to watch the detective, where the clue is reserved for the very end. But, alas, we don't get clues. Everything remains as mysterious as it was at the beginning (this is me conveying the feeling of the average viewer, accustomed to movies ' for everyone '). What is it, exclaims the viewer mentally, or even out loud, who is the murderer, who was killed, and whether it was a murder at all?
And what is this strange police station with a leaky roof, why does it not work phones, do not write pens, why does the police commissioner not even give his name, it does not seem, why does he conduct interrogation without a lawyer, what grossly violates the rights of the suspect? Solid ' why' no hope for ' because...'. That's why! Because! the filmmakers silently answer the viewer. That's what you need, Mr. average viewer, used to average detectives where there's a clue. You won't be here. It's not like this. There's no popcorn. The author's incomprehensible film. For intellectuals. Got it? That's nice. Wash and go back to your couch, from which you jumped out of indignation, not understanding the ending. Nobody understood it, not even the authors! Ciao bambino, sorry! .
The picture begins literally at the end. After which the stunned, lost soul, having forgotten how it exists in general, rushes somewhere with the mere thought that something has now happened. And the storm hit. Some kind of amorphous incident, but there is no possibility to understand - you need to run. Because there's nothing left.
The main character Onoff, ' a brilliant writer', at some point underwent not just creative impotence with a subsequent crisis (quite, of course, a common phenomenon among geniuses) - he missed the very essence of the existence of himself, his humanity. And after the incident, he is inevitably met by an outfit of police guides with flashlights. Onoff is captured by them in a stone fortress with a leaky roof and Roman Polanski in the form of a typical investigator, who knows, however, about the arrested writer ' more than he himself ' The interrogation won't be stopped until Onoff sorts himself out and understands where he is. Until he realizes what he really did over the last night and decades of his life. Only then will the storm clouds expose the clear sky.
Tornatore vividly recreated the image of pitch chaos in the head of a man awakened from a deafening blow after a tormented series of hundreds of nightmares of the night. And now forced to restore small scraps all his life. Having finally awakened in this boat of Charon in the midst of the storm, Onoff realizes the form of his "Genius" & #39; and only then, departing from this temporary refuge in the "New World" will he be allowed to take with him the memory of a past life - in a huge bag with human faces. The memory, which before that he, suffering from a wounded mind, could not find, raking up everything he had acquired.
39 I ran, ran, ran to you, but your house turned out to be a police station with a strange commissioner who knew all my novels by heart. We have to write it down. '
They write not because ideas come, but because they know nothing else to do.
General impression: Quite accidentally came across this movie, decided that the viewing is not to pass, especially such an enticing synopsis.
The tape begins abruptly, not letting you think what is happening, before us a running man in the night, torrential rain, slush, compressed breath and thunder. What is this man running from? Where? And why? We have to find out.
The main character Onof (Gerard Depardieu) finds himself in the police station, all wet and up to his ears in the dirt, says that he has an important meeting with the Minister of Culture for tomorrow, but the Commissioner of Police (Roman Polanski) other plans. He begins to quote excerpts from the novel of the writer, and the shuddered author, not understanding what the matter is and why he is locked in a tight wet room, frantically recalls the events of the past evening.
The most interesting and intriguing is the loss of memory of the hero, you understand that Onof is not just in the police station, he is a suspect. And telling what he was doing all day, confused in the testimony, wrongly speaking at the wrong time, the wrong people, and in general he does not remember what happened after 7 p.m., isn’t it absurd? And the excerpts shown to us by flashbacks, only a second, are mixed and do not allow you to focus on the story, splashing out even more mysteries. Of course, the Commissioner is beginning to suspect that Onof is not as clean as he seems. But believe in the film a magnificent, chic twist, which amazingly changes your consciousness from what you saw and presents a completely different picture.
Of course, when watching the film, we see not only the detective tense part, but also a bit of drama from GG, where every minute we get acquainted with his character, history of fate and understand what the hero is hiding. And the atmosphere of a thriller with a certain noirness creates an incredible mood, immersing and dragging more and more into the film.
The central characters here are Onof and the Commissioner, and the way they fend off the dialogue, like ping pong from words, fascinates your attention. And, of course, the acting on top! Depardieu is great, you watch him, amazed at his emotions, and there are a lot of them here. Polanski was also a pleasant surprise for me, because I am familiar with his work as a director, and here Roman has a full-fledged role, and he copes with it perfectly.
In the end, the film is not what it seems, and the ending pleasantly surprises, putting everything in its place. I hope I managed to attract you, rather watch “Simple formality”, you will not regret, I guarantee.
10 out of 10
This is a rare case where a film deserves maximum appreciation. I don’t even want to write much, so as not to spoil the impression of viewing this masterpiece for new viewers. They will get pleasure from all aspects of the film - subtle and masterful directing, forcing the film to balance on the verge of psychological drama, detective, mysticism and real European arthouse; brilliant, atmospheric music; magnificent performance of actors, especially Polanski and Depardieu; charming small details, like a broken pencil, worthy of crowning a perfectly built creative pyramid.
It is curious that in the film ' Death and the Girl' in which Polanski is already in the role of director and which was shot in the same 1994, the main plot, as it seemed to me, has distant parallels with ' Simple formality' - with all the dissimilarities of the circumstances and the scene. If you don’t know which one, watch both movies and you won’t regret it!
Giuseppe Tornatore is a respected, Italian director who has directed a number of wonderful and chic films. One of his early films, The New Paradiso Cinema, won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Tornatore’s films are all as one beautiful: “Malena”, “The Legend of the Pianist”, “The Stranger”. All these films are gorgeous, and I personally love and highlight each one.
Now before our attention is a special film by Giuseppe Tornatore called Simple Formality. Why special? Because that's exactly what it is for me. The film is unrealistically atmospheric and mysterious, but in addition to all this, the main roles in the day are played by the legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu, as well as Roman Polanski - my favorite director.
Night, forest, rain. The writer Onof runs without knowing where. He is met by three policemen and arrested by a seemingly dubious man. And now he's in the station. Onof does not understand why he was arrested or what his fault was. The interrogation is conducted by a mysterious commissioner, and the conversation of the two men is intertwined from a soulful conversation into an interrogation with bias, but the strangest thing is that the mysterious commissioner constantly quotes phrases from Onof’s novel.
It's not that hard to believe in God. I've believed in him hundreds of times, but I have to admit, I've often been ashamed of him. He would have been a great writer if he had written nothing but landscapes. (c) Onof.
The movie is hypnotic and alluring, like some ambiguous dream. You're always trying to figure out what's going on, to solve the mystery. The director here plays with the viewer from the first to the last frame. You are in a strange state when watching. It is difficult to compare this unique picture with anything, because it is exceptional. I watched it twice, and in the second I noticed things I didn’t notice at first. And again, that's the director.
A very mysterious, at first glance incomprehensible movie with a series of mysteries and intricacies. But how you want to understand and unravel this film, but it is not so simple. As for the duo Depardieu and Polanski, without any praise - it was very cool. Seeing Roman in the frame, and not behind the scenes, as often happens, is always curious. The choice of heroes from this story is more than successful.
I really like that this strange and confusing detective has a taste of mysticism, something mysterious and inexplicable. It is this fact that makes this movie so charming and foggy.
Simple Formality is a 1993 mystery-detective film. The result, a curious movie with a double bottom. The film is conversational and intellectual. Without any praise, it deserves attention. Thank you.
Although the following text does not reveal all the vicissitudes of the picture, yet this information can spoil the impression of watching the film and is therefore recommended for reading to those who have already seen the film.
So the story: One well-known writer (and perhaps not a writer) gets into the police station (although, to be honest, this old house standing on the outskirts, with a leaky roof, this institution resembles little) on suspicion of murder (it is unknown who). The writer does not remember what happened the day before and it is not possible to rely on solid facts for the viewer. Yes, and where is the solid ground, when the incessant universal flood turned the whole district into impenetrable mud? The police commissioner, played by Roman Polanski, turns out to be a great connoisseur of Onoff's work. This is the name of the writer performed by Gerard Depardieu. During the investigation, the case becomes even more confused, questions and misunderstandings arise more and more. The acting duo are on top. And although I am not Depardieu, he played impeccably.
But if someone decides that this action-packed detective will be wrong. I think the film is more for the viewer interested in questions of existence, rather than detectives.
Music Maestro Ennio Morricone as always at the height and adds atmosphere to what is happening on the screen.
In general - a few tired of modern blockbusters, I decided to watch something from the classics and the film Giuseppe Tornatore did not disappoint my expectations.
- Give me some paper, I want to write something down. - An idea for a new book? A person writes not because an idea has come, but because he can do nothing else.
Giuseppe Tornatore is one of my favorite European directors. He always knows what to surprise me, what to admire, what genre to choose and how to make a real, live movie, even the cast of actors he has great, because he never looks at the names and merits and selects his performers in such a way that they most organically fit into the concept of his films. Tornatore’s paintings “They Are All Right” (1990), “The Legend of the Pianist” (1998), “Malena” (2000), “Best Proposal” (2012) and “Two in the Universe” (2015) made an indelible impression on me. But I’m ashamed to admit that his psychological thriller-drama with elements of mysticism “Simple formality” caught my eye recently, but I immediately watched it. Of course, he was not disappointed. And here you will be disappointed, if in addition, the main roles were played by stars of the first magnitude by the time of 1993, Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski, when the film was released.
“Simple Formality” begins one of the most attractive scenes when thrillers are filmed, namely, in the nighttime under heavy rain, a lonely man raves... This man is the famous writer Onoff (Depardieu), he is detained by police and sent to the station, where Onoffa is interrogated by a rather strange Commissioner (Polanski). At first, Onoff does not understand anything and wants to be released as soon as possible, because he is not guilty of anything, but the commissioner is in no hurry to do this and begins to psychologically pressure the writer. They begin a verbal duel, but suddenly the commissioner begins to recite the works of Onoff, which surprises him. After some time, they are almost best friends, and suddenly the commissioner again changes tactics and now puts more pressure on the writer, forcing him to recall the recent past than hurts Onoff. The writer makes even an attempt to escape, but is detained, he is returned to the commissioner and he, as if nothing had happened with a slight smile on his lips, continues the conversation on an equal footing.
You can be confused by this behavior, but while there is a dialogue between Onoff and the Commissioner, it is impossible to get rid of the obsessive thoughts that make you analyze what is happening. So what's really going on? Or maybe onoff is some bloody killer and commissioner deftly bringing him out, waiting for a quick confession? Or maybe Onoff is a victim of circumstances and the exorbitant ego of the commissioner, who is very eager to put a celebrity behind bars in order to gain fame himself? Or maybe this is some kind of fateful coincidence and everything that is happening is completely absurd? We must pay tribute to Tornatore, who so skillfully put a psychological thriller, forcing the viewer to turn on the brain and build their own guesses. But I want to warn potential viewers that predict the outcome of “Simple formality” one chance in a million. Personally, after the final, I was taken aback and for some time I could not recover from learning the truth about the interrogation of the writer Onoff by a strange commissioner. For such a twisted plot and an unexpected ending, of course, we must also thank the writer Pascal Kignar, who wrote the script for Simple Formality.
But the cameraman Blasco Giurato deserves praise, who has worked with Giuseppe Tornatore more than once. In fact, Jurato had the difficult task of keeping the nerve virtually static in the camera position, but he was able to do so. At the same time, the master of props provided him with help, and the very place where the interrogation was conducted causes goosebumps on the body, and this constantly pouring rain with endless lightning and thunder adds to the tense aesthetics of “Simple Formality”. Again, here the masters of sound and light tried to fame, and the artist of the picture generally received the award “David di Donatello” (the Italian analogue of the “Oscar”). And with all the laudatory odes, it is necessary to mention again Giuseppe Tornatore, who rallied the entire film crew to produce a great movie. And if we talk about Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski, then we can succinctly say - geniuses!
Complex cinema, similar in structure to a play, but its director Giuseppe Tornatore knows a lot about real art and diligently brings “Simple Formality” to the rank of great achievements. Aesthetic, psychological, suspense, drama and brilliantly selected locations - all this is in the film. And when there are also great roles performed by large actors who play a real verbal duel with a completely unpredictable denouement, then such a movie must be watched.
9 out of 10
P.S. One of the secondary roles was played by Tano Cimaroza, familiar to us all in the image of the mafia Rosario Agro from “The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia”.
The film takes place in a small French village on a rainy night. Fleeing from a terrible thunderstorm, the famous writer Onoff (Depardieu) hides in the forest. He runs without clearing the roads, but is blocked by three policemen. Onoff, much to his surprise, is arrested. Law enforcement officers take him to a tiny local precinct where he is met by an unusual police commissioner (Polanski). The intimate conversation turns into a serious interrogation, but the writer does not understand what he is suspected of. What’s more, Onoff can’t remember how he spent the last few hours or what he was doing before he was caught in a rainstorm. Starring Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski, Polanski has the first film that was not staged by himself, and in which he played a major role, and perfectly played. The genre of the film is a drama with a detective story and even there is mysticism. At first, the plot seems banal (the writer is accused of committing a murder), but when watching the film you feel that something is wrong. Excellent dialogue, in general, the whole film is set on dialogue - the confrontation of two heroes Depardieu and Polanski.
“Simple formality” is a mystic-detective feature film, where Giuseppe Tornatore acted not only as a director and screenwriter, but also as an editor and songwriter.
“Simple Formality” is far from a formal film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, which will undoubtedly bring tremendous pleasure to at least a dozen of my invaluable and patient friends on Otzovik! Such an infinitely "tasty" and unexpected plot, magnificent dialogues, the brilliant game of Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski, the atmosphere, music, associations, an impossible finale - everything is filled with high-quality aesthetics, thought and depth!!! What a pleasure I got from watching, words cannot tell! Of course I recommend the movie!!
So, in the work of Giuseppe Tornatore "Simple formality" occupies a separate place, since the manner of presentation of the material is unusual for him. Most of Tornatore’s paintings are based on the memories of heroes from warm children (“New Cinema Paradiso”, “Malena”) to adult nostalgic (“The Legend of the Pianist”) and terrible (“The Stranger”). This film uses a radically different narrative structure, the whole script is associated with the desire to remember the recent past by answering leading questions of a person who knows your inner world too well.
The writer, writing under the pseudonym Onoff, was arrested on a dark rainy night and brought to a building for an exhaustingly long interrogation. The police commissioner is a very strange person, he is well acquainted with the work of Onoff and is able to easily quote him. During the interrogation, it becomes clear that a man whose identity cannot be identified has been found. At this time, the water enters the building from all crevices, the commissioner asks more and more questions, and Onoff tries to remember little by little what happened, the more he is sure of his innocence. The situation begins to slide into a kind of absurdity inherent in Franz Kafka’s “The Process” and its famous story by Joseph K.
The creator of the picture (director, screenwriter, editor and songwriter was made by Tornatore himself) made a strong move with the involvement of legendary figures of the world of cinema Depardieu and Polanski, who are able to play a chamber theatrical story with cinematic dynamics and not let the viewer go from the screen.
Everything will put the finale of the picture, which must be seen to the end, given the small timekeeping, and answers will be received to the questions: will Onoff remember recent events, is he innocent and most importantly, why the Commissioner knows the writer well? But the most ambiguous in the film will be some aftertaste and a feeling that not everything is as simple as shown.
“Simple formality” is a big theatrical film.
Two masters of the world of cinema and a brilliant director.
This is now Giuseppe Tornatore, the main and first of the Italian directors of our time, and then, in the early 90s, despite even a number of brilliant paintings (especially “New Cinema Paradiso”), still earned a reputation as a genius and collected a portfolio of outstanding paintings. Two masters of the world of cinema - Roman Polanski and Gerard Depardieu, scenery in the form of heavy rain, a mysterious introduction, a night in a police station, which is more like a medieval mansion. Everything is ready to create a real masterpiece.
From the first shots, the situation adjusts to attentive viewing with careful penetration into every small detail, in every word, trying to catch the hidden symbolism. The endless rain outside the walls of the site makes its way inside, the roof flows more and more in new places, creating a methodical and measured hum of falling drops. This technique was so often used by Tarkovsky, a symbol of the passing time, the inability to stop or slow it down. The further the plot develops, the more drops begin to beat against the floor.
The questions that the commissioner (Polanski) asks the hapless writer (Depardieu) sound almost rhetorical and build a series of endless ambiguity and mystery. Where did the author of the great books come from? Why did he shave off his beard and hardly recognize himself? Why are you confused by your own written lines? Memories are convulsively scattered by consciousness, splashed out by a rapid kaleidoscope of pictures, where the murder of either women or men flashes. Ghosts swirl in the suspect's heavy head.
Tornatore creates all this hoax almost with his own hands - he acts in the film as a director, and a screenwriter, and even an editor! This creates a perfect concentration of tension, where two outstanding actors live in a world where one is forced to go to the main confession of his life. Clinging to the memories, the hero Depardieu gives to the commissioner all his innermost things, where there is a place for despair, pain, incomprehensibility, eccentricity, and, terrible loneliness.
“Simple formality” operates on the principle of minimum explanations for the viewer. Only when meticulously attentive viewing, the thread of the narrative is stretched into a string and lined up in a crystal clear-framed philosophical parable. The mystical component closer to the finale is building up more and more clearly, giving an ambiguous hint of how high this biased interrogation was, and what kind of trial can be prepared for each of us.
9 out of 10
Simple Formality is a chamber film of extraordinary beauty with Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski in the lead roles. Giuseppe Tornatore, being a master of work in confined spaces, squeezes the maximum out of the situation, so she can be considered a full-fledged actor who symbolically communicates with both the viewer and the characters. Some of the literary nature of the script is completely redeemed by the live play of the actors - an extra reason to remember how outstanding Depardieu was, and make sure that the recognized classic Polanski is able not only to create images, but also to brilliantly embody them. The final twist has forever staked a place in the gold fund of cinema, and the music of Ennio Morricone, it seems, any film does only better.
Be sure to dedicate the evening to this detective, who is such only at first glance.
9 out of 10
Giuseppe Tornatore in Simple Formality is divinely one in all persons. He is a storyteller, director, editor and even a songwriter! And every job was done perfectly. It turned out work worthy of not only being seen and revised, but - heard!
This film should not only be watched but also listened to. Better to hear! Tornatore, as it seemed, draws inspiration from literature, in the works of Dostoevsky and Kafka. And his work recalled the visual and philosophical quests of Tarkovsky, Cocteau and Buñuel. Enclosed space, flying from the ceiling drops, surrealism of what is happening, the impossibility of escape.
The story begins with a gunshot. Gerard Depardieu plays the brilliant writer Onoff, who is detained by police on suspicion of murder. Roman Polanski is organic in the image of an unbending provincial detective who tries to get to the truth by restoring the chain of events. The commissioner cites Onoff's novels by heart. Onoff tries to remember how and why he ended up in a strange police station.
Metaphors, images, memories, traps and traps. The inspector calls himself Leonardo da Vinci. Short flashes of memory only confuse the writer. And the rain doesn't stop.
A movie for a thoughtful audience. Not suitable for viewing at dinner.
We think of eternity as an idea.
What you can't understand, something huge, huge!
Why is it so huge?
And all of a sudden, instead of all that,
Imagine if there was only one room.
It is like a village bath, soothed, and in all corners.
Spiders, and here is all eternity.
(Dostoevsky’Crime and Punishment)
Night. Rain. Shot. A man running through the woods. Police station. Interrogation. He is the famous writer Onoff and police inspector his ardent admirer, who knows the books of his idol by heart. But he seems to be suspected of something, he did something terrible, terrible. You have to remember!
Excellent work by the filmmakers. I probably wouldn’t write a review of this picture if “Simple Formality” turned out to be a classic detective, it would just be a well-directed tape with great acting, good script and direction. However, the film to the final turned everything upside down, surprised, shocked and left unforgettable impressions of watching.
9 out of 10
The film is a metaphor, a whirlpool film that pulls the viewer into its wilds more and more, and then suddenly lets go, and the force of the current throws you to the surface, disoriented, and does not understand what happened, what happened, what did not happen, and what next. A film in which, from a dynamic point of view, almost nothing happens, but at the same time such a nerve is maintained, and such tension increases with the course of the film that not every thriller can boast. From a psychological point of view, Tornatore shows literally dissection of a complex personality. This is a multi-layered film in which the director, like a surgeon, cuts layer by layer from the main character with a sharp scalp, slowly, gradually, savoring and giving the viewer the opportunity to consider each layer, with all its advantages and disadvantages.
At first, as soon as the first outer layer, the layer of the comfort zone, is cut, the hero behaves aggressively, sometimes even inadequately. Then, when this poisonous “subcutaneous” is cut off, it becomes quieter, and already behaves more restrained, although still resentful at the whole world and in a position of confrontation with the outside world. Then he is lost, then flattered, after-afraid, struck, mad, again aggressive, broken, devastated. Recollections, victories, attachments, nostalgia, the past, habits, losses, fears, pain, hopes, connections ... and so on are cut off consistently and methodically until all layers are cut off and the whole core is reached - an honest, undisguised, amazing and aching truth. And when in the final inspector tells Onoff that his last, not yet published novel is something outstanding, Onoff’s view in that second is the view of the very real, the very truth that the director led the viewer through the entire film.
This film is symbolic in every frame, in every detail, and insanely metaphorical - so much so that sometimes you lose touch with reality, and the understanding of where it is, the solid land of reality. And coming to the end, Tornatore demonstrates that the plot, in its logical sequence of related actions, for him is secondary to the search for the true identity of the hero, which he led throughout the film. He led the viewer to the truth, he exposed the nature of the hero, showed his true face – the goal was achieved, and by what means, and what happened there in the end, and why everything that we saw happened, is not important for him. And therefore, watching how the van takes Onoff somewhere in the distance, into the depths of the pastoral landscape, the viewer, faced with the need to think about it himself, and think of the finale, is in some confusion and bewilderment. Because it's unclear exactly where the hero is taking this van. Home? But then why does he look as if he is going on his last journey, why does he ask about the manuscript, did he not take it away, why are the photos given to him as a favor, because “you can’t actually”? Prison? But if the shot was what was revealed during the interrogation, and what is written evidence, then what could he go to prison for? And most importantly, if the shot was what it turned out, why was this interrogation at all, in this form and form?
This film cannot be understood by logic. It is woven out of mental strands of emotion, intertwined with metaphors, and held together by symbolism. You can probably write a dissertation about the meanings hidden in the symbolic details of being reflected in this film, about the interpretations of metaphorical turns. But to understand the true semantic message of the director is possible only at the level of emotions. Not the eyes and the mind, but the heart.
Honestly, I don’t like Depardieu, he never made me like him. But in this film he played very hard. Deep, multifaceted, vivid and convincing in the entire infinite spectrum of emotional halftones through which his hero passes, and from which he opens, changes, transforms. He does not become pleasant, but he makes you believe, and you believe him. A very difficult and strong role for Depardieu in this film. I even looked at him differently as an actor, his acting skills in this film match the art of Tornatore, and is highly respected. Roman Polanski has a less rebellious role, but he has become a worthy partner for Depardieu in this challenging arena. He masterfully pulled the string of this elastic bow, slowly but surely, and kept the tension. Decent role, strong play.
Resume. Movie-emotion, film-metaphor, which must be understood and thought out. It cannot be seen in between, it requires special attention and respect. But if you love film as art, in its purest form, then watch Simple Formality, you will like it.
If you read reviews to decide to watch or not to watch, then my recommendation is to definitely watch!
But I have to warn you that this is one of those films in which all the beauty lies in the finale. And only in the final everything becomes very clear, and only in the final you can assess how good the film is.
The development of the plot is, to put it mildly, not hasty. Now, 20 years later, more dynamic stories are being shot. And, putting his hand on his heart, in places it was frankly boring. But I still insist that the film is worth watching.
In fact, there are 2 heroes in the story: an unnamed commissioner with a squinted look and his detainee, who by fate turned out to be the commissioner's favorite writer. The commissioner is investigating the crime, the detainee is a suspect in this case. Everything's normal here. All other characters can be anyone, they could be removed or, conversely, added, meaning would not be lost. The action takes place in a police station, in an old deserted building. It rains all the time, it's dark outside. In general, the atmosphere is such that you initially realize that everything is bad.
Most of the film writer Onof, aka Gerard Depardieu, tries to justify himself and prove that he is not a camel, but the very famous writer. The commissioner doesn't believe him at all, maybe he does, but he constantly checks Onof and catches him lying. However, Onof himself is no longer sure of the truth of his words, because he practically does not remember what happened to him.
In general, at first I was sure that the director himself Roman Polanski, so the film echoes his paintings. That's a lot of mentality. I was surprised to learn that the film was made by the Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore, to me until this day completely unknown. There is not much to say about acting. Everything was decent. Deparde is a wonderful actor, I can’t imagine what role he could not cope with! In fact, it would be more expected if the actors played opposite roles: Depardieu would play the commissioner and Polanski would play the detainee. That would be the case if Polanski had been shot.
As with any good detective, you get the most excitement at the end. "Well, of course!" I couldn't have guessed it! That's what the whole movie is about! Everything falls into place. All conversations have special meaning. Then you say, “This is a great movie!” For the sake of this final delight, I recommend watching the film.
To begin with, I sat down to watch the film with an exceptionally positive attitude and anticipation of high-quality intellectual cinema. The film was recommended to me by a friend, I read positive (without exception) reviews about what a deep film with a stunningly unexpected ending, included and... disappointed. How much I love mystery movies that lead through long mazes that you solve by the end or try to solve later, all night after watching. Especially if labyrinths are mazes of the human subconscious, memories, emotions. The main disappointment for me was that while watching, I did not have the desire ' to unravel' the film. Intrigued at the beginning, but after a couple of tens of minutes interest fades. The question ' and what?' hangs in my head throughout the film and never disappears after it's over. So, closer to the point.
The film begins with crazy wanderings in the forest, which lead the hero to the road. Not bad, but I don’t like the way I photographed it. Shooting is conducted ' from the first person' and the feeling is not running through the forest of a person, but running through the forest, holding an amateur camera in front of him: well, it does not look like everything around in our eyes. This episode could be done very well, it’s a good idea. . But something was missing. The same applies to the entire film.
The idea of the movie isn't really bad. I will not spoiler, I will only say that the idea is interesting and from it it could be made ' candy '. But! Why the police station? What's the faraway town at the end? What kind of people appear in scraps of the protagonist's memories? (a man like a publisher, but who is this curly woman?) Why is the love line of the main character with the girl Paula not disclosed? After all, why Gerard Depardieu? Maybe I just don’t like this actor (I just don’t know who he could play to fit in and #39), but I don’t believe him in this movie.
Like everything that happens. So stupid mistakes in the testimony that the hero sometimes begins to annoy. What's that round spot of blood on your shirt? If he didn't remember anything, why was he so afraid? The idea of a book composed of disparate, in its own way ' encrypted ' the messages of the wise, I apologize, the bum - the main mentor of our writer - killed in the air. And why would you introduce a math teacher? Why does the commissioner call himself Leonardo da Vinci? All these questions are not intriguing, but rather annoying. And like this 'nuance' full of the film. The action takes place in the same room, which should pay off with the drama of the dialogue, some idea. . But the dialogue is too theatrical, all scenes look staged, ' not like in life'. Heroes are not completely revealed. It’s not even about the actors, they did well, even though I wouldn’t talk about someone’s brilliant performance. But there's an ingredient missing. Maybe that’s why watching is just boring, you can’t feel the characters, understand them. And I wouldn't say the end is shaking to the core. When you understand what’s going on, it’s a shame that a good idea for a high-quality intellectual drama has been so embodied. What is the pompous scene at the end with the words 'the book is great'? How do you know that by going through a few pages? . .
The result is irritatingly implausible, boring, the end discourages and leaves in confusion. Plus - such details as leaky ceilings, mice and PR & #39; atmospheric & #39; things. But it's painfully template. Lynch speaks the language of symbols much more interestingly. In general, I think the reviews about this film are excessive.
At night, as is customary in such cases, there was a thunderstorm. You ran through the woods without clearing the road. The twigs were whipping in the face, the legs were stuck in the hot mud, and you kept running and running. In despair, not knowing where... A blinding light struck his eyes. Electric light from the police car headlights. She'll take you to the station. There is no other way in this forgotten place.
Throughout the film, we watch a psychological duel between two people, one of whom calls himself a famous writer, and the other – why bother, just call me Leonardo. The first is a suspect in a crime, the second is a passionate admirer of his writing talents and part-time police commissioner. A passionate fan, but for some reason did not immediately recognize his idol. That's because he used to wear a beard. Without a beard, I didn’t admit... Convulsively grasping his own chin, our writer, of course, did not guess that he is not the only person in the world who can not be recognized without a beard. Neither did we. The camera ran over the face of his interlocutor, looked at him point-blank, and we noticed it, but misinterpreted it. Everything is always misunderstood here.
The focus jumps from one character to another. Camera goes around, hits, follows. Sharp angles, rich colors. In some ways it is similar to neo-noir, in others – to Polansky’s films (no wonder he plays one of the main characters – the commissioner). A chamber thriller-detective with obvious references to the Kafkaesque absurdity and psychologism of Dostoevsky. We have a body. Who killed him? - You killed me.
But it is impossible to remember... What happened this afternoon? Or tonight. Where you been, what you did. Why the hell did you do that? That's the only thing left to remember. Shame on God. He would not graphomania in vain, and write only landscapes.
Fragmented images flash in my head. They are so aggressive and chaotic that you can go crazy. And somewhere quite on the edge of consciousness - a pussy gun barrel pointed at point-blank range. On the victim, on the condemned to death, on the viewer ...
And until you remember, you'll be sitting here. You stay here forever. In this place cursed by all the gods, on the perimeter of which are placed traps. How do they live here? You can't live here! Flows from the ceiling, no plumbing, no electricity, no telephone line. All the ink is dry, the pens do not write, but only tear the paper into pieces. There's no one to ask for a cigarette. Not a single person in the police station smokes. Absurd. Absurdity and bullying. It is good to eat wine, it slowly pours into the glass, you look at this piercing scarlet liquid, it fills the entire space in front of you. What happened this afternoon? . .
You lived under a false name, your biography was invented from the first to the last letter. You have lost the photographs you have so carefully collected all these years, and you no longer remember the faces on this heap of waste paper, even your own face has forgotten, and you forgot to write a dedication to a man to whom you owe everything. Just a few short lines. But you didn't do that either.
And finally, you remember everything. Clean sheets of paper, empty mousetrap, long horns. In the dry residue - only a bunch of photos that no one will miss. The wine is drunk, the cheese is eaten, and this tortured interrogation is over. The commissioner did his job well. And you know, now you know, it was just a formality. Simple formality. No one was going to bully you. Only you can do it yourself. The dull night thunderstorm, which seemed endless, ended, the sky cleared and lit up with the first rays of the rising sun.
We look at the world and do not understand it. Snippets of words, phrases that do not add up to the overall picture. Desperate, we come to the conclusion that there is no meaning in these scribbles, and God is a mediocre writer. How long does it take to decipher his records?
During a terrible thunderstorm in a small French village in an inconspicuous police station with a leaky roof, the famous writer Onoff (Depardieu) suddenly turns out. He cannot understand what he is accused of and why he is not allowed to go home. But he also has no way of remembering exactly what he's been doing for the last few hours and how he got caught up in this torrential downpour. The local commissioner (Polanski) begins questioning Onoff in order to find out all the details of the mysterious crime, about which he does not plan to tell the writer.
Great and truly theatrical film. By these words, I usually mean the intimacy of the scene, a small number of actors, an interesting dialogue plot, a high level of acting skills and the general atmosphere of a kind of “literature”. All this is fully present in the film "Simple formality".
The scene is a small, dilapidated police station. Countless streams of water seep through the dilapidated roof, the light of candles, puddles on the floor, creaky tables and chairs, pens that have not written for a long time. Such decoration creates a beautiful atmosphere of sensuality, intimacy, if you will. And against this background, the two main characters conduct their, sometimes too leisurely, conversation, delving deeper into the nooks of the destroyed memory of Onoff.
It is difficult to describe the whole range of feelings that you feel, watching the film to the end, avoiding spoilers. I will only say that the ending is quite unexpected and, like the whole film, strongly resembles the works of Gogol, Chekhov and even Franz Kafka. The music of the famous composer Ennio Morricone adds to this atmosphere of mystery and mystery. It disturbs, excites, keeps in tension - what is necessary.
And, of course, how not to note the subtle and soulful play of Depardieu and Polanski. That's who, and they wouldn't be lost in a theater scene. The duo turned out to be wonderful - explosive Onoff, screaming, waving his hands, laughing and crying, and his antipode is a closed, calm and almost indifferent Commissioner.
The only minor drawback of the film, in my opinion, is that, having made sure that the ending of the film amazes the viewer, the director (aka the screenwriter) did not consider it necessary to close some of the storylines that remained hanging in the air. The viewer who watches this movie to the end (and this is already an indicator of some intelligence that is not inherent in popcorn-chewing “chickens”), will certainly notice these roughnesses. Well, let's ...
I recommend watching this film first of all for those who do not shy away from going to the theater and reading classic books. Others should not, or you will say again, they say that action is not enough, but there is a lot of dialogue. Who is better off than that?