This movie was a very interesting movie. Somewhat suspenseful but intriguing is a better description. It is very well done. At the end things suddenly change and I caught part of the meaning of the film. But then I stayed afterwards and heard other people discussing the film and I began to see there is so much more to this film than first meets the eye.

I really liked this film and I think if it was in English I could have grasped some things better. Even though this is a foreign film (in French) with English subtitles I still found it to be an excellent film.

The rest of my review has some spoilers but it may help you understand the film. (if you like to interpret the film yourself you may want to watch it first before reading my interpretation of what is happening). Here is what I think is going on in the movie:

While watching this movie it appears to be a typical story. A man got murdered. The main character is being investigated as being the possible murderer. Right at the end of the movie you learn the main character is actually dead and had committed suicide. The person he murdered was actually himself. The man is actually dead and is somewhere in between life and after life. His suicide has complicated some things and that is why he is going through this process. It's almost as though he is on trial for killing himself and reliving parts of his life. It's almost as though he could not go on to the afterlife because he ended his life prematurely and because of this he has to learn that he was dead. The guy doesn't know that he is dead until the very end of the movie (and the audience doesn't know that either).

That is interesting in itself but the movie goes one step further. If you pay attention you'll see that some of the other people involved in the movie are angels or some type of guardians to the afterlife. Other people are alive in the movie and seem to be ignoring this guy but later you realize he is being ignored by the living because he is dead and they are not aware of his presence. And I imagine there more things going on but this gives you a good idea what is happening.

This movie reminds you of the surprise that came at the end of the movie "The Sixth Sense" however there are more dimensions to this movie. It may be hard to catch everything that is going on and this is the type of movie you may want to see twice. However it is a very creative and interesting movie. I'd give this a score of 9 out of 10 stars.

In fact I liked the Sixth Sense but this movie is better. The ending is what made the Sixth Sense a great movie (8 out of 10 stars). However without that clever ending the Sixth Sense would have just been an average film. Likewise the ending makes this movie a great movie. However the other parts of this film add a lot of dimensions and interest to everything and the whole thing is a more creative concept.

That is why I think this movie ("Pure Formality") is even better than the "Sixth Sense".

The whole movie plays in a police station..a protogonist is investigated by a inspector and a type writer notedown his statement.. But finally we came to know that it is not a policestation and protogonist also did suicide himself... Slow drama movie must have more patoence than u think.. And that protogonist and inspector(roman polanski) acted soo well.. Must watch movie..!!

There is a murder in a stormy night and a man (Gérard Depardieu) wandering without any protection from the heavy rain is arrested by the police with no documents. In the police station, he claims that he has a meeting with the Ministry of Culture on the next morning but he needs to wait for the Inspector (Roman Polanski). When he arrives, the man is arrogant and tells that he is the famous and reclusive writer Onoff. The Inspector is his fan and quotes many books written by him. When the Inspector interrogates Onoff, he is not able to recall his last four hours. Along the rainy night, the Inspector insists in interrogating Onoff since there was a murder nearby his house and the victim can not be identified. Who might be the victim and the killer?

"Una pura formalità" is an intriguing and theatrical film that is developed basically in one location. The screenplay and dialogues keeps the viewer curious about who killed who. Gérard Depardieu and Roman Polanski have top-notch performances and their duel is worthwhile watching. Unfortunately this film has only been released on VHS in Brazil. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Simples Formalidade" ("A Simple Formality")