Claude Chabrol return to his form with this masterpiece. I saw it at the Berlinale and the battle for tickets was worth it. Chabrol directs his actors in a very subtle way; it is not the main plot points that arouse your emotion, but small moments in the game between Charmant Killman and her opponents. Although all opponents are deeply bad people, Chabrol succeeds in giving them "things" that make them human beings and recognizable characters. Including all supporting and even one-line-characters. Watch Killmans Bodyguards, for example. Watch how Chabrol begins and ends scenes - very unusual. Watch the juxtaposition of Killmans life as a judge and her private life. I won't say much about the film itself, as it is good to know nothing about it before. It's a wise film, "La Piovra" in a cinema version (and much shorter), dealing with a topic that is most important in our western industrial countries - silent corruption. Most times the corruption theme in films bores, but Chabrol and Huppert make it a joy.
