# A Pure Formality (1994)

> A reclusive novelist with no memory of a mysterious night faces an increasingly metaphysical interrogation in a storm-isolated police station.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/11642

## Facts

- Runtime: 111 min
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Drama
- Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
- Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Roman Polanski, Sergio Rubini, Nicola Di Pinto, Tano Cimarosa, Paolo Lombardi, Maria Rosa Spagnolo, Alberto Sironi
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110917/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Mood: brooding, eerie, claustrophobic, late night viewing, rainy day

## Synopsis

A reclusive writer's dark past unravels under the scrutiny of a relentless inspector on a stormy night.

## Movies like A Pure Formality

- [The Inquisitor (1981)](https://ember.film/movie/2908)
- [The Woman in the Fifth (2011)](https://ember.film/movie/58526)
- [Under the Sand (2001)](https://ember.film/movie/2855)
- [Insomnia (1997)](https://ember.film/movie/15895)
- [Based on a True Story (2017)](https://ember.film/movie/278654)
- [Last Year at Marienbad (1961)](https://ember.film/movie/2375)
- [The Blue Room (2014)](https://ember.film/movie/154544)
- [Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971)](https://ember.film/movie/25353)
- [Mr. Klein (1976)](https://ember.film/movie/40537)
- [The Girl in the Fog (2017)](https://ember.film/movie/319769)

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