A Pure Formality
Una pura formalita
dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
Italy / France, 1994 - 107
A man is running through the woods during a violent storm. He is Onoff. Completely covered in mud, he is taken to a dingy and dirty police station where he declares that he is the famous writer Onoff. The inspector does not believe a word of what he says and snears at him while he tells his tale. How can this man with a smashed face be the famous Onoff, sublime author of his most beloved novels. And why does he suffer from partial amnesia? Could he be the man they are looking for? The person responsible for the murder committed near Onoff's home? The mystery will be solved only at dawn and will be an incredible revelatin for Onoff.
"Every new film I make is different from the previous one because I have a deep dislike for anything that could seem like a sequel or a remake of a successful formula. During the production of 'Una pura formalita' I felt the refreshing sensation of dealing with total novelty and change. The film has nothing to do with Sicily or the South, a common aspect of my previous three films. I haven't dealt with the theme of nostalgia that was so important in 'Cinema Paradiso' and 'Stanno tutti bene.' And most of all it isn't a pessimistic movie, a characteristic that some say is particular to my vision of the world." Giuseppe Tornatore
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