Choses secrètes (2002)

Director:

Jean-Claude Brisseau

Writer:

Jean-Claude Brisseau (writer)

Release Date:

16 October 2002 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

The delectably twisted fable centers on two penniless but shapely young women who set out to better their social station by manipulating men.

Plot:

Two young women find themselves struggling to survive in Paris, street-wise Nathalie, a stripper, and naïve Sandrine...

Plot Keywords:

Jealousy | Voyeur | Stripper | Orgy | Sex

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Coralie Revel	...	Nathalie
Sabrina Seyvecou	...	Sandrine
Roger Miremont	...	Delacroix (as Roger Mirmont)
Fabrice Deville	...	Christophe
Blandine Bury	...	Charlotte
Olivier Soler	...	Cadene
Viviane Théophildès	...	Mme. Mercier
Dorothée Picard	...	Delacroix's Mother
Pierre Gabaston	...	Bar Patron
María Luisa García	...	Sandrine's Mother (as Lisa Hérédia)
Arnaud Goujon	...	Personnel Manager
Liès Kidji	...	The Young Thief
Patricia Candido Trinca	...	Office Employee
Lydia Chopart	...	Office Employee
Michaël Couvreur	...	Office Employee

Also Known As:

Secret Things (International: English title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:18 | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba) | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Italy:VM14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Japan:R-18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Unrated | Mexico:C

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Trivia:

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#01, with "Ten")

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The end of the movie is supposed to take place after Nathalie is released from prison, several years after the main plot takes place. Yet the movies advertised on the advertisement pillar in the background (See Spot Run (2001), Town & Country (2001)) were released in France around the same weeks as the movies referenced in the main plot's time frame (Sleepwalker (2000) etc.).

Quotes:

Christophe: I am the death of all and the birth of all. Word and memory, fortitude and mercy, and the silence of secret things.

Movie Connections:

References Les portes de la gloire (2001)

Soundtrack:

Coronation Anthem n°1 Zadok the Priest - PLAGE N°9

Laughably bad

I saw this movie last night; my date and I couldn't help but laughing throughout as it was so entertainingly bad. First, the softcore male-fantasy component was utterly cliche; constant female masturbation, lesbianism for the benefit of male eyes, "the one masterful man who can give her an orgasm", etc., etc. Second, the main male character's lines were some insanely sophomoric De Sade pastiche; my favorite line: "Am I crueler than God, or Creation?" Third, what was with the woman shrouded in black and her death bird? I thought I was watching an early-90s goth-punk video. Every time I saw her I thought they should have flashed "FORESHADOWING" in big letters on the screen.

Definitely see it for its unintentionally humorous badness.