The Girl in the Fog

Donato Carrisi's first film as director, adapted from his own novel. A sixteen-year-old girl disappears in a small town in the Alps. Inspector Vogel is sent from Rome. He is not a conventional detective: his real expertise is managing the press. He draws camera crews to the town, leaks clues, selects a suspect, and says openly that he is steering public opinion. In his view, solving a case begins with building the story. That is the film's actual subject: not who the guilty party is but who the media declares guilty. When the local schoolteacher is accused, his life ends in a day. Toni Servillo plays Vogel; Jean Reno plays a psychiatrist, and the film is framed by their conversations. The narrative contains more than one reversal, and the explanations that arrive one after another at the end are too much for some viewers. A solid choice for anyone who likes dark Italian crime films and thrillers carrying a critique of the media. For a viewer wanting a coherent resolution, the finale is too tricky.