A 1971 Swiss drama mystery that intrigues. In a small village a young woman is accused of shooting her bumptious uncle, but she says he shot himself while cleaning his rifle, and the case, for want of any concrete evidence, remains unresolved. Pierre, a journalist, is commissioned to write an investigative piece on the story. A lack of time makes him ask his friend Paul, a would-be novelist, to help him get to the facts. The differences in their approaches, and the surprises they find when they get to know the girl, provide the basis for the drama. Pierre seeks facts, evidence, where Paul relies on intuition, constructing alternative scenarios and backstories that are confounded by the simple reality. The objective contrasted with the subjective.
The story moves along at a steady pace, with no big moments of drama, but plenty of humour (there's a wonderful scene in a shoe shop) and always interesting. A thought provoking period piece.
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