Perfetti sconosciuti

Quite difficult to believe that Paolo Genovese's Perfect Strangers is not inspired by a theater play. Everything happens within the closed limits of one apartment where seven friends meet for a casual dinner which turns into something completely different when they decide to play a 'Truth or Do' kind of game using their ... mobile phones. One immediately thinks to movies like Roman Polanski's Carnage , but that one was based on the play (and screenplay) of Yasmina Reza. It seems however in this case that the movie took precedence, but I am confident that the stage adaptations will follow quickly. So will the American remake, I am afraid.

What happens if all the calls, messaging, social networking content we believe to be confidential comes in the clear? This is the game the friends decide to play and the results will - as expected- be disastrous for most of the friendships and couple relationships. Is the film about the dangers of social networking and other forms of Internet communication? or maybe about the dangers of hiding and lying and trusting or not trusting your friends? One should see this film to decide. And ask yourself also if you are ready to play the game with your friends.

The film starts at a slow pace, and it took a while to catch me. When it did it was fantastic. It also contains a final twist in the script that I will not reveal. It's well acted and smartly written. I recommend it. There are good chances that you'll enjoy it.

Seven long time friends are having a meet up at Rocco (Marco Giallini) and Eva's (Kasia Smutniak) house. As the dinner starts to evolve the theme of cellphones emerges bringing in very different points of views on the matter. The friendly bickering evolves to the point that the seven friends decide to play a game. Everyone is to put their cellphone on the table and any and every message, call or notification that arrives during the dinner is to be shared with everybody. What will emerge is in fact that all of these lifelong friends might actually be, fittingly, perfect strangers to one another.

Paolo Genovese, an Italian director who in the past had made decent, yet never really remarkable efforts in Italian cinema has now come out with what is the best film of 2016 so far, the film you have to watch this year, a nail biting thriller, that takes your breath away with its first reveal and never lets you catch it back, not until long after the film has ended. If there is one feature you will have to look out for in 2016 this is the one to go for.

What is most surprising about what Genovese and all of his co-writers have achieved is how simple the whole thing is. It is a basic premise. It is shot unstylishly. The plot weave has two, three at best turn points. The packaging of the film is so simple it almost puts into discussion the visual nature of film itself. Yet, what Genovese does as a director and what the screenplay achieves with its tight and relentless pacing is filling all of the simple surface of the film with a dark and riveting twist that manages to hold the viewer's interest without ever calling attention on itself.

All of the scenes are shot with basic coverage. There is no shot in the film that calls attention to itself. Where this is compensated is with incredible blocking, masterful editing and overall impeccable timing. Just as Lumet in 1957 manged to make twelve men in a room visually interesting, Genovese, even if to a slightly lesser extent, manages to take this setting and charge every action and dialogue line with a climactic effort.

When confronted with such a screenplay a director has to realize he has to step back and make the lines breathe, make the actors relevant, give the dialogue a flow and a meaning, trying not to make it become irrelevant. That is what Genovese does and to a brilliant effect, just like last year Danny Boyle made Sorkin's words enlighten the screen with energy, the director here gives the dialogue the spotlight and supports it with one little action at a time, all of which prove to be genius moves.

It could be so easy to give all the credit to these brilliant actors, who admittedly rise to this occasion and give a collection of amazing performances, yet what Genovese those is so understated, so brilliantly unnoticeable it is the mark of a superbly directed movie. He walks perfectly the line between being a showman and being laid back, he ends up forging that perfect balance which makes every edit matter and what comes out on the other side is a white-knuckle thriller.

Still, this screenplay has to be taken into account as the primary reason of success for the feature. Its character outlining is remarkable, everyone of these people feels fully rounded, you can sense all of their history weighing in on their shoulders. Every line further develops the relation between these people and takes a step forwards in defining them, you simply cling to every word trying to get to know them, their reality feels so interesting you want to be a part of it. It has almost a voyeuristic nature that is not too unlike Hitchock's "Rear Window". Naturally all of these actors have their A-game on which is the final ingredient into the craft of this overwhelming film.

Were you wondering what film is missing from your catalog this year? Well here's this Italian one-room thriller that will take you by surprise and leave you with an ending that is brave and original, which seals the deal on the film and charges it with the most thematic effort it could have ever had.

An incredibly well-written modern chamber play that submit us a really interesting question: What would actually happen if a group of friends that affirm to know each other perfectly puts the smartphones altogether where everyone can hear the calls and read the messages? Yes A big mess

The brilliant starting idea is developed in a wonderful crescendo that transforms rapidly the situation from a nice dinner with old friends into a bloody battleground that reveals the darker secrets.

The movie is both funny and dramatic and so is the bitter-sweet final (wonderful inception tribute).

Great cast, good directing and good cinematography.

Vote: 8.5

Usually the films based on the dinner party associate with either family or the friends reunion and sometimes business related affair. But there's always a reason for such gathering like it might be a wedding, funeral, anniversary, a school reunion, getting a job or promotion, victory celebration et cetera. In this film, it was some long time friends meet which seems its their regular thing to do often. This tale covers one such fine evening to reveal what they actually do. A limited cast and one night event based film that cleverly and cautiously covers sensitive topics of the married life and trust of the friendship.

It has been almost a year since my last Italian film and now I'm happy for choosing this. I was not certain that I would like it till I saw it. So I would say same to you that see it first and then judge the product. This is really a good comedy-drama with a dark tone. We all adapted the modern way of life and gadgets makes so easy to accomplish things around us. In that, cell phones might come the first. Carrying it all the time became only next to wearing clothes, surely an artificial/digital sense of man. It also has some flaws, like it may land you in troubles as it's a part of AI, not human. I think it is easy to forecast a man's future by checking out his phone rather than his horoscope.

Seven friends, including three married couples and one single man gather for a dinner party. They have been doing it for a very long time and that's where they all can share each others current life affair. Having some laughs and serious discussions, it defines the strength of their relationship. Every occasions won't be the same, there's always a first time for everything. That's how the event comes crashing out.

While the party was going smooth, unexpectedly a game emerges that they all must place their phones on the table to prove they have no secrets from each other. Incoming and outgoing calls, texts, emails, everything must be heard by everyone at the table. What do you think would happen? Before saying anything, just place yourself in that position and do you think you can get away with a clean slate? Obviously tough to answer that, only practical observation would bring the result.

"He's seeing a therapist, not a whore! Come on!"

Every time when there's an alert for an incoming call or message, the atmosphere gets more tense and as a viewer I went blinkless. It is not about what people hid from others, it is the reaction in the room when their secret was exposed. This is when adults become teenagers who try to explain the stuff when their parents find out their secrets. And so the friends become complete strangers. Because friends must back each other in the bad times, but in this scenario, it was totally out of the proportion regarding their action. Okay, if we push away the friendship, then how's the married one should take it. Feels very simple, since everyone involved in something, it has turned out to be a complicated affair.

Like I said I've seen plenty of similar themed films, but this one was something unique in a simple way. There's a vast difference between what do you witness in the opening compared to how it concludes. A bad mouth can spoil a beautiful occasion, but now it is avoided since people learnt to shut their mouth. Just remember the film 'August: Osage County' and this film was no way close to it as a story, but developed to the next gen, the digital troubles the mankind had set to face. This film revealed how much a cell phone would cause trouble, then think what would happen with the robots of the tomorrow. Surely in 20-30 years from now, a similar film will be made with the bots.

At some point, I thought it might be the Italian version of the 'Coherence' for inclusion of lunar eclipse in the plot. I'm not going to say anything about that, you'll get it in your watch. There's no end twist, but it was an unexpected final scene. By then you will understand the meaning of the title. Awesome screenplay and well performed actors, this is one of the best films of the year so far. This is not a sci-fi or a thriller or a visual spectacular, but a smart little drama and I'm sensing that somebody might consider it for a remake. I know everyone won't like as much I did, but I won't end my review without recommending it. If you like talk movies, sure you does enjoy it.

8.5/10

I've never liked truth or dare, so as soon as one of the characters suggested a truth/dare like game for a peaceful get together with friends, I knew at a personal level that the worst would come about. 'Single room' movies, ever so dependent on a strong script, can easily become overbearing, if wit does not overcome the wry mundaneness of life and the timing of events is not both harmonious and believable. When a theater play is the source material, you know at least that there's a pedigree to the writing before you embark on the journey, so this blind test was something different to, let's say, Carnage (an engrossing adaptation itself). But different good.

A group of life-long friends gather at a dinner party, as the prologue already hints at cracks in the relationships between the couples coming together. The device meant to drive them towards unraveling is a 'game' wherein everyone lays their mobile phones on the table and all messages and calls are answered/viewed in public - funny enough, someone still has a Nokia! Well, the tension is palpable from the get-go and as two of the friends make a 'trade' in the hopes of mitigating fallout from an expected text, this actually proves to be the least of their problems.

As mentioned above, the first questions to answer pertain to timing and believability. The execution of the escalation scenario is convincing, in that it builds well towards a final release. However, your sense of disbelief is tested at certain points, as too much seems to be happening at once. It's inevitable and the film deals with it in a very clever way, but the premise remains questionable - that everyone gets up to so much mischief in an exciting way.

The set-up is used to deliver some relevant arguments about the nature of relationships, the meaning of trust and the way that technology works as a filter. All lives are presumed to be defined by some sort of multiplicity, of things that happen which we don't share with those around us because they are hard to explain, hurtful or simply duplicitous. In a way, it has never been so easy to deceive, while actually being just an unwanted glance away from one's reveal. The movie argues that what we ultimately see is the veneer of authenticity, so intricately holding together a web of lies, even among the thickest of friends. What it does even better is point to the fact that while there are some rules of thumb to explain the behaviour of other people, really understanding which rules apply to whom is a question of context and of prejudices.

What remains difficult to obscure is the artificiality of some of the situations - related to the need for entertaining drama. Worrying too much about surprising the audience with shock after shock is damaging not only in itself, but in tearing apart the integrity of the characters. Moreover, some meek symbolism, like the mystical eclipse of the full moon acting as a trigger for 'the unveiling', is equally unnecessary, if harmless.

Yet, it's fairly easy to transcend these inadequacies thanks to the sound build up of the atmosphere, the well rounded characters, and the depth the movie achieves in its existential commentary. Not sure I would label this a comedy, but it sure is a dinner date gone haywire, with some beautiful Italian flair to go with the ever so doubtful bio wine.