Directed and written by Jean-Claude Brisseau the film is at once sexually frank*, mysterious and a bit disturbing. It starts with two woman roomates (Sabrina Seyvecou and Coralie Revel) who become roommates and dare each other in sexual exploits around Paris. Soon they get a job for a corporation and decide to find a guy, make him fall in love and then drop him just for fun.

While the film clearly echoes the cult favorite In The Company of Men this one is a lot more sexually explicit [female nudity mainly] and to some degree actually has a heart.

The two women set their sites on the CEO's good looking son. What they don't realize is that he is an egotistical hedonist who is only interested in sexual gratification - which he often practices with his sister. In time the sinister nature of all of these relationships get complex and painful.

The sex and naked bodies is all just dross however for the bigger themes concerning the ethics and morals of bad behavior. And too there is a mythological undercurrent that gives the film the element of a Greek tragedy.

In a nutshell Secret Things combines the script-like directness of an Eric Rohmer film with the sexual frankness of a Catherine Breillait film and the psychological intrigue of a Jacques Rivette. While it is not perhaps as good as Rohmer or Rivette it was voted best film of the year by the Cahiers du Cinema critics a couple of years ago. I've seen it twice and it holds up pretty well.

*[If you are okay with the film's first scene, which is a very explicit art strip-tease that borders on porn then the movie is for you].

Video:
The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and looks excellent. The colors are sharp, with good blacks and well-hued interiors. I believe the film was shot to be projected 1.85:1 but the image doesn't seem to crowd the edges of the frame.

Audio:
Film is in French stereo with English subtitles. The subtitles cannot be removed.

Extras:
The only extra of note is a photo gallery with about half-a-dozen photos.

Overall: Secret Things is a strongly sexual French film with a good story and theme. The DVD looks and sounds very good but has no extras. It is worth a look if interested.