Perfetti sconosciuti

Une excellente conversation, basée sur une idée simple mais originale, avec quelques rebondissements surprenants. Bien sûr, Woody ou Polanski lui auraient donné une poésie unique, mais peut-on s'en passer ? Le succès de la forme conventionnelle est d'autant plus apprécié lorsqu'il est soutenu par un casting "juste", un rythme dynamique et des moments sociaux percutants. L'appel téléphonique de la fille de 17 ans est le point culminant émotionnel et humain du film. Les boucles d'oreilles sont le point culminant satirique et comique. Et une fin "la-la-landesque" géniale. Un remake américain qui devrait atteindre chez nous environ 68%, c'est plus que probable (Bateman, Sudeikis, Vergara et compagnie?). (05/05/2017)

Hypocrisy is a trait possessed by almost everyone who dines together in this movie. What seems to be fun at the beginning changes with time into a brutal emotional ride that just doesn’t end. An exemplary premise reflecting the present times where people cannot live without their smartphones and while walking at the sidewalk, they spend more time looking at their screens than that sidewalk. With this dialogue-based movie the Italians did the best they could. (10/02/2018)

Perfect Strangers starts as a light and enjoyable relationship comedy about a group of long-time friends who, along with their partners, come to a party wanting to forget their worries, reminisce about the past, and enjoy the lunar eclipse undisturbed by their kids. Playful banter and a relaxed atmosphere lead to a foolish idea of revealing their privacy (after all, they have nothing to hide from each other) and conducting their phone calls with the speaker on. The voices of dissenting parties are silenced - those who disagree have something to hide. Soon skeletons start coming out of the closet, characters are exposed, and communication begins to dangerously falter. Positive emotions are replaced by distrust and bitterness. The comedy subtly becomes a moralistic drama. It is accurate and true to life, but I feel that for this film it applies more than to others that you need to have some life experience to fully enjoy it. It is simply a film for the middle generation who knows what a mid-life crisis is. I liked both the comedic and dramatic aspects, and I also appreciated the civility of the performances and the fresh quality of the actors. It is a movie that I will definitely come back to in the future. Overall impression: 90%. (06/06/2017)

A very current subject treated in a very likeable way through a conversational dramedy that can be very urgent at times, but also maintains an evaluative distance through a number of light elements and deliberately exaggerated escalation. The final twist may not be worth thinking about or taking seriously in relation to the overall message, but I really enjoyed the course of the film, got to know the characters very quickly, and it flashed a minimal warning light in my head that I've seen this before somewhere else... 75% (19/02/2017)

How much do we really know about our loved ones? And how much do we even want to know about them? At first glance, Perfect Strangers is an ordinary conversational piece with an imaginative primary impulse that slowly but surely crystallizes from an initial childish game to a dense drama in which each successive message or phone call can turn the supposed reality one hundred and eighty degrees. Each new revelation tries to trump the last, and the hypocrite of the year contest is in full swing. The film offers some surprising and emotionally powerful moments (the old men on the balcony), but the biggest surprise comes at the end. Chillingly humorous to the point of being humorously chilling! (21/03/2020)

I was reminded of the dialogue from the sitcom Black Books: "Do you remember who all was at that dinner?" "I don't. Him and his friends. You know, the sort of people who talk about salad for five hours." Which indirectly captures the problem with Perfect Strangers. I didn't care about the characters. With one bright exception, it's just a bland gathering of upper-middle-class Italian hypocrites whose standard topics are food, drink, vacations, health, and each other's relationships. What then happens to these two-legged Elle catalogues as a result of their own boredom and disenchantment is truly irrelevant. So what can you do with them. Moreover, the whole thing is really just a stage play, with the film format bringing absolutely nothing extra to the table. For a truly bitter tragicomedy that can work formally within the limited space of a single apartment, I'd instead invite you to join the Hajdu family party in It's Not the Time of My Life. (28/07/2017)

Défi ciné 2018 : l’Italie. Merci à mon collègue et ami slovaque pour l’excellente suggestion. Pour me convaincre, il lui a suffi de me dire que sa compagne et lui-même avaient vu ce film au cinéma à deux reprises et de me dévoiler une réplique clé à propos des téléphones portables et le carnage qui s’ensuivait. Et quel carnage ! Je crois aussi que voir ce film en couple est l’idéal, parce que chacun des partenaires aura probablement quelque chose à en tirer. Je n’aurais pu mieux choisir pour l’Italie dans le cadre de mon défi de l’année et même, je pense, dans ce qui est sorti ces dernières années. Excellent moment ! (29/01/2018)

An Italian single-location film that was surprisingly enjoyable. I find games like truth or dare pathetic, but this version enhanced by cellphones was downright suicidal. For example, I'd love to see Sofia's reaction if she found out with whom daddy shared their private conversation. The creators did an excellent job portraying the individual characters and I really enjoyed the conclusion which unraveled the alternative version of the story. I was completely satisfied. (06/01/2020)

A finely crafted and perhaps even better punctuated, brisk conversational drama with elements of intelligent humor, which sufficiently reaffirmed to me that I'm doing really well by not wasting my life with a phone in hand. I applaud the script and all the actors and actresses involved. (85%) (25/10/2020)

L’un des meilleurs « films de conversation » qu’il m’ait été donné de voir : incontestablement original et tout à fait d’actualité, drôle et triste à la fois, et un peu, voire même très, déprimant. La fin du film ajoute une dimension subversive à tout ce qui s’est passé lors de ce dîner… Eccellente ! (04/05/2018)

An excellent Italian conversational comedy that gets progressively more and more dramatic. The main idea is very original and I'm sure that many of us have thought about how such an evening might turn out in our case. The film makes you think about how many secrets we actually have and how much we pretend to be somobody else in front of the others. (10/07/2023)