The Inquisitor

On New Year's Eve in a provincial town, a notary is called to the police station for questioning. He arrives as a witness in the killing of two young girls, and as the night goes on his position changes. Claude Miller keeps almost all of it in one room between two men: Michel Serrault as the notary and Lino Ventura as the inspector. The tension comes from the handling of language rather than from violence, since it is never clear where a sentence will be taken and each man keeps testing the other's limit. The only person who enters is the notary's wife, and that scene destroys the balance. It won awards in France for the screenplay and the performances. The ending is deliberately left uncomfortable. Who it is for: viewers who like single-room interrogation films and acting duels. Who it is not for: anyone wanting incident, since this stays around one table throughout.