MovieChat Forums > Una pura formalità (1995) Discussion > *****spoilers****** , question about the...

*spoilers** , question about the inspector

posted 21 years ago by Renard-4
32 replies | jump to latest

DON'T read this, if you haven't seen the movie, and go rent it, right away. One of my favorites. Only in VHS unfortunately.

We had a discution some years ago among friends, that the inspector was Leonardo Da Vinci. Welcoming the souls in the afterlife. Like a St.Peter.

The guards in the movie seems too shy, too sensible, to be guards more like angels, ready to escort Onoff, I guess... but we didn't come with any names or characters :)

I don't exactly remember what brought it up, but i tought since Leonardo was one of the great artist/genius inventor of the humanity, he could relate more towards the writer Onoff, and could have the job of welcoming the souls in general. It's been a while since i've seen it, there was something he said that lead me to think that... If i remember correctly, something at the end before he gets in the truck. damned memory.

I would like that to see Leonardo Da Vinci after i die... hopefully in some decades from now...

I'm just waiting for it to come to DVD. please whoever make it soon happen. So i can revisit this masterpiece, and make it clearer.

[–] avidanaoeumsonho 21 years ago

Nice considerations.

Keep on with the good work!!!

[–] Vithar 20 years ago

I really LOVE this movie it's one of my top 5 for sure. AS far as i remember when Onoff is getting on the truck he ask "leonardo" his name, and he just repeats "Leonardo". I think he's indeed Leonardo Da Vinci, but i'm not sure if he is always in that job or just for artists, genius, and hopely engineers :)

its sad not many people has seen this movie, it should easly be one of the top 250.

[–] Enkelados 20 years ago

Hello Berrizian,

I know you haven't been here for a while, looking at the date you posted your message, but I will try nonetheless.

Well, my point is that I was just telling myself about the fact that this movie is indeed very unknown to the public in general. But I like to think to that it is somekind of my secret garden.

I don't think that it would be on the top250 even if more people had seen it. The ending is to opened to imagination to make it a wide public movie. Just take a look to any movie that are leaving space to imagination, even a small place and you will find a crowd to say: «Ending Confused Me».

Ask for myself, I love confusing ending, makes me think I stil have some imagination left from almost 3 decades of bad movies.

Have fun

Oh! and by the way, I like the idea that it is Leonardo Da Vinci that is welcoming the artists after life.

Demented forever!

[–] puppethead23 17 years ago

If you like this, you should see "Final Approach" which came out before this movie in 1991. This movie is pretty much an exact reimagining of that other film which I kinda liked better.

[–] tcoffman 20 years ago

>We had a discution some years ago among friends, that the inspector was Leonardo Da Vinci. Welcoming the souls in the afterlife. Like a St.Peter.

Interesting! I certainly hadn't thought of that, but it does seem significant that Onoff asks his name at that moment, and da Vinci is the only Leonardo famous enough to go by only his first name, IMO. Very good thought!

[–] Renard-4 20 years ago

Thanks
but unfortunately we were a group talking and it came as we were talking about the film, so I cannot take the credit for it alone...

Nice movie though...

Salut
my growing DVD collection
http://www.intervocative.com/DVDCollection.aspx/chauffard

[–] real_wild_child 19 years ago

Folks, I think you're all wrong. In the first part of the film, when Depardieu declares he's the writer Onoff, the inspector replies "if you are Onoff, then I am Leonardo da Vinci". It's no more than a joke, meaning he doesn't believe him. So when at the and Onoff asks him "what's your name?", the inspector answers "you can call me Leonardo" as a reference to his previous line. Simple as that.
P.S. Sorry for my poor English

[–] edwardsmith47 19 years ago

But he IS Onoff. And the inspector probably knew that beforehand, no? So perhaps he IS Leonardo da Vinci.

[–] avidanaoeumsonho 19 years ago

I agree here with my friend edwardsmith47!
(without the agressive tone, though)

[–] ampolk 19 years ago

This is one of my favorite films, too, but it's been some time since I've seen it.

If I'm recalling correctly, early in the movie Polanski says something to the effect of "You are Onoff? Then, I am Leonardo Da Vinci!" It's meant to be taken as a joke.

But at the end, Onoff asks him what his name is. Polanski's response is something like "I already told you. I am Leonardo Da Vinci."

I was left with the impression after viewing that he is in fact Leonardo Da Vinci. And the movie is so much cooler if he is.

[–] Something2die4 19 years ago

You ruined the movie for me. When i read "who was the inspector played by Polanski", before i saw the movie, i always knew that it was something about him. So thanks a lot. This thread should be deleted.

[–] Renard-4 19 years ago

What do you think Spoiler meant?
I think you should have paid more attention to the title of this tread...
sorry to have spoiled it for you, but It was there in plain view. So I'm sorry but this thread has everyright to exist.
It's your response that should be deleted.

anyway sorry you should check it out, it's a good film.

remember, check out the rules of this site, spoiler means that we will be discussing key points of the movie, so if you see it, stay away.
And when you do watch, come back and tell us about it.

Spoiler, remember... that's what it is.

edit And worst is, you must be blind because, in plain view I wrote in the first line of my first post: what a spoiler means... so tough luck.
end of edit

[–] Something2die4 19 years ago

That's not what i meant, it was the TITLE of this topic that ruined it for me. Get it!. Like "who was the inspector", when i saw the movie for the first time after seeing this threads title, i always knew it was something about the caracter played by Polanski being revealed at the end of the movie, and it did. And that kind of ruined the movie for me, because of the topic title.

[–] Renard-4 19 years ago

You know it is hard to answer that one...
It's like you listen to the radio and while searching you end up listening to bits of a review on a movie, which might also ruin it. At the theatre, the previews, but that’s not the point
The title that I wrote wasn't meant to spoil it for you, but to bring interest to other members, so we could discuss who Polanski was…

Well I can try to be more sensible when I write my titles...

[–] Something2die4 19 years ago

Maybe i overreacted a little, but the topic title did put thoughts in my head while watching the movie. And i was absolutely sure that something was going to be revealed about the inspector at the end, because i remembered the topic title: "Who was the inspector".

[–] m-grasso 19 years ago

I don't agree with yours interpretations guys. I am pretty sure that one of the hidden meaning of the movie is a comparison with the Divin Commedy of Dante Alighieri. It is not easy to notice, unless if you have been forced to study it for five years..
So, the inspector is the latin poet Ovidio: indeed in Divin Commedy he is the one who accompain Dante into the exploration of Hell.
If you have some time to lose you'll notice that every carachter has a resemblance with another one in the poem. For example the old man that gives him the milk is Caron, the boatman. There is scene in the movie where the fire is reflected from his glasses; the hint is "Caronte occhi di bragia" (Caron fire eyes...or st.like that..)...and Cerber the Guardian (the though police man)...and so on..
Onof killed himself, so in order to take conscience of what he did, somehow has to pass from hell, or from one of the possible hells...and here is accompanied by Ovidio...at least, this is my opinion...

Marco

[–] m-grasso 19 years ago

one more hint...when gerard depardieu try to escape (to the police?to its destiny?to its conscience?) he is finally caught on a tree...well in divin commedy, suicides are represented as thorny and wild plants. Having interrupted the correspondence between soul and body their punishment is to live in a vegetal (inferior for dante) body...as all damned people, they will go back to Giosafat Valley, and instead to wear dress "they will hang their body to a tree", this symbolising the impossibility to retake possessione of the body that they refused

[–] real_wild_child 19 years ago

Nice point... except for the fact that it's not Ovidio in ther Divine Comedy - it's Virgilio.
Anyway a better interpretation than the one about Leonardo da Vinci. One must have a poor understanding of the meaning of Leonardo in italian culture to assume the humanist genius could be imagined by an italian director and writer as one who receives souls in a sort of limbo...

[–] Renard-4 19 years ago

I haven't made any studies on Da Vinci and I won't base my opinions on the Dan Brown's book either. Which at the time wasn't published or banned. Just seeing an extraordinary personna like Da Vinci welcoming you, whereever you are, in the after life, would be great to me and my friends at the time and frankly I think still is now. And if Da Vinci was a Humanist who said he was right .

Vedali
my growing DVD collection
http://www.intervocative.com/DVDCollection.aspx/chauffard

[–] m-grasso 19 years ago

it's definitively Virgilio. terrible lapsus, thanks for the remark
cheers

[–] Renard-4 19 years ago

Here you go, You got me... I haven't read La Divina Commedia.
This is in fact a good point you brought up.
Thanks for the input.

Salut
my growing DVD collection
http://www.intervocative.com/DVDCollection.aspx/chauffard

[–] gerardo2 19 years ago

I dont think that leonardo was welcoming the souls.i think that he was the judge of the souls of the people who commited suicide , and in the end Onoff is driven to hell since he was guilty , of course leonardo have compasion to the souls of those people in the end , but that dont mean that they are going to heaven since in the end he is in a prisioner truck.

Sorry for my english

[–] v_abromaitis 19 years ago

But i think that after that souls are driven to heaven or hell. And the mountain panorama was really beautiful and white, so i think Onoff really was driven to heaven :)

[–] jane-cooper-1 19 years ago

v abromaitis - yes i thought Onoff was driven off to heaven as well. I had no idea where the film was going/what it was all about until the very end - and for me it just 'clicked' that the awful police place was in effect 'purgatory'....and that in purgatory one sits between heaven and hell until it is decided whether you should go up or down???. When it was realised that he had committed suicide the rain stopped and things got brighter, and when he got in the van he was obviously going 'up' to heaven. Absolutely fantastic film - and i think people are getting too entangled into whether the inspector was or wasn't Leonard de vinci - after all the importance of the inspector isn't 'who' he is.....it is about what he does to get the 'victim' to fully realise that he committed suicide from there the purgatory ends. Sheer brilliance!

[–] pin-up 18 years ago

I don´t think this movie is about hell or heaven
And I don´t think Onoff would have said "thank you" to the
inspector (in the end) if "hell" should be his reward.

I think this movie is rather about guilt, suppressing bad things
and not beeing responsible, the worst here: to even forget his own suicide.

the inspectors job (who was once alive himself) is to help Onoff and all the others recalling life and all the bad stuff they forgot. without him Onoff
surely would
still be running through the twilight zone.

Onoff overcame himself, confronted himself with all the things
he ran away from in life, now he can "rest in peace".

I still don´t know about the da vinci thing, it would surely be a funny extra!
but there is not enough proof in the movie.

[–] jacksite 17 years ago

I admit that I couldn't figure out everything on myself and after reading this topic I was quite impressed with the theories, altho I have to admit that if I commit suicide I don't need Leonardo DaVinci, I'll be pretty satisfied with Polanski xD
pin-up I like your theory best since all that God stuff is a bit distant to me :D

Dessy

[–] TemporaryOne-1 17 years ago

Gerardo said

I dont think that leonardo was welcoming the souls.i think that he was the judge of the souls of the people who commited suicide , and in the end Onoff is driven to hell since he was guilty , of course leonardo have compasion to the souls of those people in the end , but that dont mean that they are going to heaven since in the end he is in a prisioner truck.

That is exactly what the Inspector was doing because he was God.

However, another user mentioned The Divine Comedy and Greek myth, the old man Caron would be Charon who led people across the Styx and Acheron, the Inspector Hades, and the police station the house of the dead where people awaited their Judgement.

Onoff even mentions he is staying at a farmhouse on the River Choron [Charon].

The Greek myth/Dante explanation is more fleshed out and actualized in the film than the straightforward biblical explanation.

[–] djsnafu23 16 years ago

Great analysis...

Am, I the only one though who was extremely let down by the superbatural slant?
I thought tthe similar Death&The Maiden (as well as Liar, and perhaps The Interview- not the Bill macy one) were superior, though this here too was very good up to the end for me.

myspace.com/bankrupteuropeans

Coz lifes too short to listen to Madlib

*****spoilers****** , question about the inspector

*spoilers** , question about the inspector