OK, I tried mightily to see the "artsy" aspect of this film. However with a lack of (1) a story line, (2) character development, (3) a plot, along with (4) insipid cinematography, there really wasn't much of anything going for it. The setting was 'meh' and the actors' lack of attractiveness (which might have made the supposed concept more plausible) also contributed to the feeling that I was being ripped off by watching.The idea of polyamorous relationships or even the nudity on display did not turn me off. I was just left with nothing but questions, not the least of which was, "Why was I wasting my time watching this?" The 'idea' behind the movie was perhaps revolutionary but it didn't seem in the least plausible. No wonder they had trouble finding backers as this wasn't more than a whisper of a film. Just hope the actors kept their day jobs!

"Hide and Seek" is a tale of 4 young adults, who chose to move to the countryside, live in nature, share everything, be perfectly equal and free.The two boys and two girls find innocent ways of entertaining each other and making the weeks pass, as if they want to reduce life to an infinite melancholic childhood experience. This concept of pure escapism also involves the protagonists loving each other equally. The movie does not hold back on displaying sex and sexuality and it requires an open mind to appreciate it."Hide and Seek" is certainly no commercial entertainment and the narrative as it is makes it feel more like an art project than a fictional movie, but for a first-length feature the director show her talent and the brave performances of the cast are impressive.

Just saw this feature half an hour ago on the Film Festival in Gent, Belgium, the director and one of the actresses being present (Lea). It was a moving experience, creating an ambiance that reminded me in some way of the melancholic, playful ambiance in Bertolucci's The Dreamers: young people exploring life and each other in a tender, fragile and endlessly creative way, in some kind of idyllic, timeless place. The audience was really moved after the film, and both the director & the actress were cheered and answered the numerous questions with pleasure. I can't wait to see more of this director; I thoroughly enjoyed her creativity, and the stunning improvisations by the actors.

Seen at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2014. 'Hide and Seek' has a simple story: Leah, a young woman unsure of what she wants from life, inherits an isolated cottage in the country. She invites three other youngsters - a woman and two men - to move in with her on the understanding a different combination - female/male, female/female and male/male - will share what they call the 'marital bed' each night. In between bouts in the bed they while away the hours lazing in the garden or staging evening 'entertainments' (art class, a pretend camping trip, mock funeral etc).And that's it, really; there's not much sign of a conventional storyline here, although the film does have a beginning, middle and end. Director Joanna Coates keeps the pace constant, if slow; and pulls off the difficult trick of making the sex scenes reasonably explicit but also rather discrete (a vigorous five-finger shuffle aside). (Incidentally, don't get the wrong idea - there aren't so many sex scenes, and they're all pretty brief - this isn't soft porn.) The four young leads - none of whom are drop-dead gorgeous, which adds to the realism of the piece, although none of them looks bad naked - cope well enough with their roles, although for me acting honours go to Hannah Arterton as the girl who breaks a romance of five years to join the group; she utilises a range of facial ticks which on another actor might have seemed too much like Acting - Arterton, however, makes them quite natural.