Secret Things (2002) Choses secrètes (original title)

Director:

Jean-Claude Brisseau

Writer:

Jean-Claude Brisseau

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:

Stripper | Jealousy | Friendship | Sex | Office

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
Boris Le Roy	...	Office Employee
Aude Breusse	...	Office Employee
Aurélien Geneix	...	Man at Party
Alain Couesnon	...	Bouncer 1
Bruno SX	...	Bouncer 2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sylvain Bourguignon	...	Client
Frédéric Marques	...	Bouncer
Jean-Claude Brisseau	...	Sandrine's Father (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean-Claude Brisseau

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Claude Brisseau

Produced by
Jean-Claude Brisseau	....	producer
Jean-François Geneix	....	executive producer
Jean-François Geneix	....	producer

Original Music by
Julien Civange

Cinematography by
Wilfrid Sempé

Film Editing by
María Luisa García

Production Design by
María Luisa García

Costume Design by
María Luisa García
Monique Proville

Makeup Department
Elodie Barrat	....	assistant makeup artist
Stéphane Cavallié	....	hair stylist
Anne-Sophie Desquesses	....	assistant hair stylist
José Romero	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Olivier Caillard	....	unit manager
Charles Penvern	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Julie Navarro	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Eric Lingansch	....	assistant decorator
Pascal Ray	....	painter
Marc-Olivier Seguin	....	painter

Sound Department
Fabien Adelin	....	assistant sound mixer
Fred Bielle	....	adr artist
Frédéric Cattoni	....	sound consultant: DTS
Pascal Dedeye	....	foley artist
Franck Duval	....	sound assistant
Olivier Grandjean	....	sound assistant
Priscilla Hamon	....	assistant sound editor
Cyril Jegou	....	sound editor
Bernard Leroux	....	sound mixer
Xavier Piroëlle	....	sound

Special Effects by
Patrick Gentils	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Thierry Bellanger	....	electrician
Thomas Caselli	....	assistant camera (as Thomas Casselli)
Patrick Chizallet	....	grip
Patrizio Ciddio	....	grip trainee
Xavier Delamalmaison	....	camera operator
Nicolas Dollander	....	Steadicam operator
Marc Elusse	....	gaffer
Patrick Gentils	....	key grip
David Grinberg	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Didier Trévisan	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Sandrine Ferreira	....	negative cutter
Charles Fréville	....	digital color grader
Jean-Marc Grégois	....	color timer (as Jean-Marc Gréjois)

Other crew
Emile Anselem	....	production administrator
Patricia Candido Trinca	....	production assistant
Floriane Crépin	....	script supervisor
Olivier Guigues	....	press attache
Charles Penvern	....	unit assistant

Production Companies

• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• La Sorcière Rouge
• Les Aventuriers de l'Image

Distributors

• Bir Film (Turkey)
• First Run Features (2004) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Longride (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Video Audio Project (VAP) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Zima Entertainment (2004) (Mexico) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Alamode Film (Germany)
• First Run Features (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Officine UBU (2007) (Italy) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Rézo Films
• Tartan Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinéphase  audio post-production
• Elison  sound re-recording
• Ercidan  titles
• Locaflash  electric equipment
• TSF  electric equipment
• Tapages  sound equipment
• Telegrip  grip equipment

Also Known As:

"Choses secrètes" - France (original title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

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 | UK:18 | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba) | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Italy:VM14

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:

Sandrine:What do you feel dancing naked with all those people watching?
Nathalie:Nothing.
Sandrine:But you excite them.
Nathalie:Usually it's routine.
Sandrine:Usually?
Nathalie:On stage once, I came the hardest I ever had.
Sandrine:Even with a guy?
Nathalie:That night I came the hardest I ever had.
Sandrine:Why?
Nathalie:Because people were watching.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Skulls (2000)

Soundtrack:

La Passion selon Saint-Jean

A Banquet of Sexual Manipulation Gone Awry

The opening scene in Secret Things slams you with its voyeuristic impact suggesting that this is a soft-porn exploitation in someone's private bedroom; however, the scene turns out to be an autoerotic exhibition onstage in a bar in Paris. Nathalie (Coralie Revel) is a gorgeous exotic dancer headlining in a dank bar in Paris. She is fired after a tiff with the calloused owner together with a naïve bartender Sandrine (Sabrina Seyvecou). The two ladies vow not to be used by men again. Nathalie encourages Sandrine to loosen her sexual inhibitions to get more out of life. She instructs Sandrine how to awaken her sexuality both in the bedroom and at public places such as a tunnel in the Metro. The pair decides to room together and scheme on how they will better their lot in life by using men to climb the ladder of success and become free spirits.

After the ladies land a job at the same firm, they plot on how to advance their positions using their sensuality as a manipulative tool. Nathalie quickly maneuvers a job as personnel assistant and Sandrina is now an executive secretary. Sandrina, currently an apt pupil in sexual prowess, manages to manipulate her superiors until she finally lands a position as secretary to the main supervisor. This formerly monogamous married man, who is twice Sandrine's age, falls madly in love with her to his detriment as they secretly hump their way across the screen both on the job and at other more acceptable venues. Sandrine flagrantly uses him to advance her career, yet plans on dumping him once she conquers the young CEO, a handsome and clever womanizer.

As the affair with her boss hardens, she begins to back off and he becomes more desperate to possess her. Nathalie on the other hand has fallen hard for an unrevealed lover, who apparently has dumped her. Sandrine attempts to console Nathalie and ultimately winds up in the sack with her. Now the plot begins to deteriorate as the newfound freedom they were both relishing begins to erode. Trapped by the amorous attention of her boss, Sandrine now imposes upon him to promote Nathalie to their office where they eventually indulge in a ménage à trois. This scenario further crumbles when the three are discovered in hot embrace in the restroom by the young stud of a CEO, who is even more Machiavellian than they are.

The plot now totally disintegrates into a banquet of ruthlessness, group sex, lesbian sex, three-way sex, and masturbation. Our heroines, now suffering much more than they did before they decided upon their quest to manipulate men, go along with the bizarre program foisted upon them. The story unfolds into some off the wall twists and unexpected ironies. However, when mixed with the continual bombardment of sexual exploitation, it adds little to the theme of the story. The film appears to take away more than it provides.

The first three quarters of the film are fun and interesting as we observe the women taking charge of their lives and maneuvering through office politics. The movie eventually falls apart dropping to the level of a soft-core porn movie, without rhyme or reason until the plot regresses to something secondary to the sexploitations. The director, Jean-Claude Brisseau presents quite a banquet of sexuality, turning on both men and women audiences throughout the film, while maintaining a nice balance of story and visual indulgence. This picture, in French with English subtitles, is deftly crafted so that you easily forget that you are reading everything instead of listening to the dialogue. Nathalie is so stunning and sexual on the screen that it is by itself well worth the price of admission. It is too bad the story falls apart in the third act; nevertheless, I would still recommend it for its visual arousing energy and remarkable premise.