Secret Things

Colour
France, 2002, 115 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

The bar where shy Sandrine works protects her against unwelcome advances. She admires the beautiful Nathalie who also works at the night time establishment, as an unabashed erotic dancer. One day, when Nathalie stands up for the bartender, both gals are fired. Sandrine accepts an offer to live with her new friend, and eagerly agrees to have Nathalie induct her into the mysteries of seducing men. Nathalie first builds up Sandrine’s confidence as a woman: she teaches her to love her body and to attract the attention of any man who interests her. Thanks to her newfound savvy, Sandrine lands a job with a prestigious firm, seduces the boss and sets about establishing her influence. But the aging dandy is only the first of the men she selects: with Nathalie’s help, this humble outsider rises to the sunny heights of the social ladder. But the pair run into trouble when they set their sights on the boss’s son, the libertine Christoph. He, even better than they, has mastered the art of sexual practices which lead to the attainment of greater power: he splits up the two friends and takes advantage of Sandrine for his own mercenary goals. Can Nathalie’s desire for revenge end in anything but tragedy?

About the director

Jean-Claude Brisseau (b. 1944, Paris) belongs to the elder generation of French directors who use interpersonal relations (generally between the sexes) to investigate the workings of societal power. He got a good start with the television movies La Vie come ça and Les ombres, and in 1983 he debuted in film with the successful drama Un jeu brutal starring Bruno Cremer. Cremer also starred in Brisseau’s next two films, Sound and Fury (De bruit et de fureur, Special Youth Award at the 1988 Cannes IFF) and White Wedding (Noce blanche) in which Vanessa Paradis plays a cynical seductress. In 1992 the film Céline, the story of a girl looking or her real father was screened in the competition at the Berlin IFF. The director then shot the tragicomedy The Black Angel (L’ange noir, 1994) starring Michel Piccoli and Tchéky Karyo, the comedy Workers for the Good Lord (Les Savates du bon Dieu, 2000) and Secret Things (Choses secrétes).