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NAMUR 2018

Review: Nothing to Hide

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- Fred Cavayé directs an effective and relevant group comedy, a small dinner between friends turns into a settling of scores when everyone's intimacy is exposed to the light of day

Review: Nothing to Hide
Grégory Gadebois, Doria Tillier, Roschdy Zem, Vincent Elbaz, Bérénice Bejo and Stéphane De Groodt in Nothing to Hide

With Nothing to Hide [+see also:
trailer
interview: Fred Cavayé
film profile
]
, screened at the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur (FIFF), Fred Cavayé directs a highly contemporary reinterpretation of classic French cinema, a small dinner with friends, revisited and adapted for the smartphone era.

During a dinner, various couples decide to play a "game": everyone must put their mobile phone in the middle of the table and every text message, phone call, email, Facebook message, etc. will be shared with everyone else. It’s not long before this "game" turns into a nightmare. 

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Departing from this very simple premise, Fred Cavayé rolls out this classic French “boulevard” comedy device, with an air of What's in a Name? [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
to it. This is not the only inspiration, given that the film is also an adaptation of an Italian box office hit (Perfect Strangers [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Paolo Genovese). Add to that a 5-star cast of talented actors from various film backgrounds, all equally impeccable (Bérénice Béjo, Stéphane de Groodt, Suzanne Clément, Grégory Gadebois, Roschdy Zem, Vincent Elbaz and Dora Tillier), and you have yourself a recipe for success. 

But Fred Cavayé is not content in mining the same vein, through his little game of life-size carnage, he takes the opportunity to ask some fundamental questions: how does love age, if it can age? Are our friends our worst enemies? How far should we push the need for transparency in love and friendship? 

A super-efficient comedy, served by some super-sharp dialogue and a topic in tune with the times, the film has all the ingredients for success, just like the Italian and Spanish versions (the latter made by Alex de la Iglesia, Perfectos desconocidos [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
). 

Nothing to Hide was produced by Mars Films and Medset in France and co-produced in Belgium by Scope Pictures. It will be released in French cinemas on 17 October by Mars Films Distribution and by Belga Films in Belgium.

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(Translated from French)

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