The Girl by the Lake (La Ragaza del lago)

An idyllic town surrounded by mountains is shocked by the murder of young and beautiful Anna (Alessia Piovan), found nude on the side of a lake but with no signs of sexual assault or a struggle. Inspector Giovanni Sanzio (Servillo) is called in from the provincial capital, but the victim proves as mysterious as the crime itself. Suspicion falls on village simpleton Mario (Franco Ravera), then transfers to Anna’s layabout boyfriend, Roberto (Denis Fasolo), and even her father, Davide (Marco Baliani), whose homemovies of his curvaceous daughter pay more attention to her form than would seem appropriate. Or could it be recently divorced neighbor Corrado Canali (Fabrizio Gifuni), whose autistic child died in a freak accident not too long ago? As expected, Servillo gets completely under the skin of the inspector, radiating depth while maintaining a hardened exterior. He’s joined by the cream of Italo thespians, including Valeria Golino in a brief part as Canali’s estranged wife. Argentinian lenser Ramiro Civita (“Whisky Romeo Zulu”) gives the picture a properly cold light, suggesting the almost quivering anxieties behind the tranquil mountain exterior. Jay Weissberg, Variety