Elisa is in prison (rather gorgeously set in the Swiss mountains with some space for the inmates to run around in nature) because she killed her sister. She claims that she has lost most of her memory of the crime, and her motive is unknown. She decides to take part as interviewee in a research project of criminologist Prof. Alaoui, who is interested in feelings of guilt, or rather the absence of them. Through the interviews the two of them and we, the spectators, find out more about the crime. Elisa has to face some hard truths about herself that she had suppressed, consciously or unconsciously.
This is an intelligent psychological film with philosophical implications. Besides being curious about what we are about to find out, there is much food for thought. Emotionally the film is a bit understated, but this makes some sense given the characters. Barbara Ronchi as Elisa delivers a great performance. The emotions are there, but it takes effort to get at them. Prof. Alaoui probably becomes a bit too much a therapist in the proceedings given that he actually is a scientist running a study, but this is not the fault of actor Roschdy Zem, who also does a fine job.
I found this film interesting, rewarding, and mostly credible. The film has some potentially controversial aspects. Some may object that this is one of the films that is much more interested in perpetrators than in victims (in a short scene this issue is actually explicitly raised), and may not like that the film may make the spectators feel for Elisa, the perpetrator. This is a fair enough criticism, but personally I am quite interested in this profound look at a culprit. 7.7 stars.
