Closed Circuit

The film opens with a crowd assembling for a screening and staff preparing the theater. Several audience members display unusual behavior, including secret lovers and a man who spends an unusually long time in the restroom. The setup establishes a tense mood as the audience settles in for the Western.

During the Western's end, a man sitting near a young couple is shot dead in the theater. It is unclear who fired the shot, and panic erupts as spectators realize a real murder has occurred. The shooter remains unknown among the attendees inside the cinema.

Panic spreads as the theater is quickly closed to prevent anyone from leaving. Police arrive and the inspector is assured that the murderer and the weapon must still be inside the theater. Investigators begin to canvass the audience to find any lead, while tensions run high.

The inspector conducts individual interrogations, trying to uncover motives and alibis. He notes suspicious behavior, including two lovers who are secretly married to other people and have been meeting in the theater. Two would-be escapees, crooks seeking a quick exit, are caught, though no conclusive evidence ties them to the murder.

The detective learns that the victim was a solitary pensioner with a passion for cinema and photography. This detail provides personality but no direct clue to the crime. The case remains stubbornly unsolved as investigators chase dead ends.

The inspector arranges a reconstruction, forcing visitors to sit in the same seats as during the first viewing. In the reenactment, a popular usher occupies the murdered man's chair and is mysteriously shot at the end of the Western. The exercise duplicates the film's events and amplifies the sense that the theater holds hidden dangers.

Time pressure increases when the Ministry of Defense becomes involved because the victim had worked there as an accountant. Authorities stress that the clock is ticking while the trapped audience awaits a resolution. The case takes on a national significance beyond the cinema.

A second reconstruction places one of the commissioner’s superiors in the seat. Before the on-screen gunfight reaches its climax, he stands and bolts through the theater, terrified by the image of the gunman aiming at him. In the end the gunman on the screen shoots this victim as well.

The film cannot be switched off, and during the third gunshot the physical film disappears from the projector. The loss of the film complicates the investigation and traps the characters in an endless loop. Technicians begin to search for the cause while the theater remains sealed.

Police and forensic experts identify the firearm used in the shootings as a Colt revolver from 1863. This discovery narrows the field of suspects and suggests a deliberate, historic choice of weapon. The weapon's vintage links the theater's events to the era of Westerns shown earlier.

The case remains officially unsolved at the end. The inspector remains without a formal verdict, and questions linger about guilt and motive. The unresolved nature underscores a broader theme about how people kill with the machines they create.

Final scene shows the inspector and the sociologist continuing their discussion, lingering over the implications of cinema and technology. They consider how media shapes perception, memory, and fear beyond the theater walls.