He rejects her, and as in an earlier scene, conjures up an image of a vagina ravaged by male brutality. The murder investigation almost feels like an afterthought. Working with a corpulent police chief who s always perspiring, De Winter interviews a gallery of locals who are either dim-witted or unwilling to help. The inquest goes nowhere. Everyone loses interest, including De Winter.
Small details overshadow major events.
In one scene, De Winter finds a farmer s pig more interesting than the farmer he is supposed to interview. He s the proverbial blank slate expressionless and quasi-mute. Dumont uses him as a subject on whom he projects everything. It s an ambitious effort and it would have worked if Dumont only wanted to portray De Winter as a psychotic. But the undeniable human element calls for more and Schotte has neither the face nor the voice for it.