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Perfect Strangers

Perfect Strangers (Perfetti sconosciuti)

Movie · 2016 · 7 people

A critical and commercial success, Perfect Strangers (Italian: Perfetti sconosciuti) won the David di Donatello for Best Film and grossed more than €16 million in Italy after opening there on 11 February 2016. Paolo Genovese directed this psychological comedy-drama for Medusa Film and wrote it with Paolo Costella and Rolando Ravello; the Italian production runs about 97 minutes. It also took the David di Donatello for Best Screenplay and the Nastro d'argento for Best Comedy.

Seven close friends meet for dinner and, as the evening goes on, agree to a daring game: everyone puts their phone on the table, and every message, call and email that arrives must be shared openly. What starts as fun turns tense as each ringing phone exposes secrets and strains the couples and friendships. Marco Giallini plays Rocco, Giuseppe Battiston Peppe, Anna Foglietta Carlotta and Edoardo Leo Cosimo; Valerio Mastandrea, Alba Rohrwacher and Kasia Smutniak complete the cast.

The film is recognised by Guinness World Records as the most remade film, with versions in more than twenty languages. Remakes include the French Le Jeu and the South Korean Intimate Strangers, with further versions made in Spain, Mexico, Russia, China, Greece, Poland and Turkey.

DirectorPaolo Genovese
Production companyMedusa Film

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Valerio Mastandrea Valerio Mastandrea Actor · 54 years old Kasia Smutniak Kasia Smutniak Actor · 47 years old Giuseppe Battiston Anna Foglietta Marco Giallini Edoardo Leo Alba Rohrwacher

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

The strength of Perfect Strangers lies in a construction almost as spare as a stage play. A dinner, phones placed on the table and one simple rule: the script turns that narrow frame into a ticking bomb. Every ringing phone becomes a new dramatic turn, and Genovese keeps the rhythm as he shifts from comedy to tension. The David di Donatello for screenplay is no surprise in that light. Its weakness is that the structure grows mechanical: the secrets come out in a set pattern, almost as if each is waiting its turn, and once you notice the pattern the surprise wears thin. Still, it is obvious why it inspired so many remakes: it is a superbly working idea that travels to any culture.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film tells the story of an age in which the smartphone has become less a means of communication than a box of secrets. Questioning how much close friendships and marriages rest on the unknown, it brings the issue of digital privacy to an ordinary dinner table. The record-breaking number of remakes, from France to South Korea and from Turkey to China, shows different societies asking themselves the same question: how well do we really know each other? That universality turns an Italian comedy into a mirror held up across cultures. For those who know the Turkish version, seeing the original can be instructive too.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

This is a film for adults. It is about secrets between couples and trust among friends, and the conversations get quite tense at times. It is not one for small children, and if you watch with teenagers, be aware the themes can be heavy. It is the kind of film to watch with your partner or friends and talk about at length afterwards. It may make you think twice before putting your phone on the table.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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