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After a left-wing deputy is struck down following a political rally, an examining magistrate begins questioning witnesses and officials. His procedural inquiry reveals coordination among police, military figures, and right-wing extremists despite the government's insistence on an accident.

Jean-Louis Trintignant's controlled magistrate lets accumulating evidence generate the anger. Rapid editing, mobile cameras, Mikis Theodorakis's music, documentary texture, and clipped official language drive the assassination inquiry with propulsive force.