Good movie and everybody has to watch it because it is a story and a lesson showing us that phones started to be our life that little box can be a source of pain and problems and instead of focusing on our lives and live it fully we waste our time on stupid things leaving behind things that matter

Perfect strangers is a successful film, of necessity contrived because it is built on a successful gimmick- don't want to reveal it here. Takes place largely in dining room (was it a play before a movie?). Good movie symbolized by eclipse of moon occasionally watched by the diners, and ending hinted at by it. Not everything credible, but we are not watching War and Peace, or maybe so, in a sense. Plenty of pasta in evidence, so you and your partner may want to go out for a pizza afterwards, if still speaking to one another - hopefully life won't imitate art.Basta (enough).

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since The Big Chill (1983). It was the movie that immortalised the 'gathering of old school friends' as a narrative premise for revealing hidden truths and showing that friendship is the first casualty of honesty. The Italian comedy of manners Perfect Strangers (2016) follows this path but updates it with themes of technological intrusion, marital hypocrisy and sexuality closets. The result is a cross between a squirm-in-your-seat farce and a reality TV show where everyone goes home alone.Seven friends gather for a dinner party and amidst the bonhomie over drinks friction points appear in every relationship. As often happens in long-term friendships, they know enough about each other to stay in touch but know too much for comfort. Three are married couples at various points on the harmony scale and the single divorcée has come alone despite expectations that the group will meet the new girlfriend. The hostess Eva, a therapist, chats about iPhones as a modern day black box full of secrets kept from partners. She suddenly suggests a party game where everyone puts their phones on the table to share every incoming call and message to show that they have nothing to hide. Once this premise is locked in, the consequences are funny, chaotic and predictable.After a heavy breathing prank call from a friend in the kitchen, this Russian roulette of secrets gets more and more serious and the eye movements around the table more jittery. The hostess is the first to be embarrassed when a message reveals she is having her "boobs done" and another friend is caught out scheming to move her mother-in-law into a nursing home. One by one, the secrets tumble out including marital infidelities and gay outings. The dialogue-rich script and the well- paced story is propelled entirely by the tension of not knowing what will be revealed next.This is intelligent humour for contemporary times with the ever-dwindling gap between the public and the private. The gags and one-liners are fast and cutting to capture the kind of things that friends might think while sober and voice out when not. For audiences who do not speak Italian, the dialogue is delivered at Mediterranean speed and the sub-titles undoubtedly miss nuance. The escalation of disclosures and amplification of impact produces a stage play-like atmosphere reminiscent of a French farce gone wild. But it all adds to the chaos as the fabric of friendship is torn asunder in what is an entertaining if voyeuristic over-the-fence look at how others live their lives.

Quite difficult to believe that Paolo Genovese's Perfect Strangers is not inspired by a theater play. Everything happens within the closed limits of one apartment where seven friends meet for a casual dinner which turns into something completely different when they decide to play a 'Truth or Do' kind of game using their ... mobile phones. One immediately thinks to movies like Roman Polanski's Carnage , but that one was based on the play (and screenplay) of Yasmina Reza. It seems however in this case that the movie took precedence, but I am confident that the stage adaptations will follow quickly. So will the American remake, I am afraid.What happens if all the calls, messaging, social networking content we believe to be confidential comes in the clear? This is the game the friends decide to play and the results will - as expected- be disastrous for most of the friendships and couple relationships. Is the film about the dangers of social networking and other forms of Internet communication? or maybe about the dangers of hiding and lying and trusting or not trusting your friends? One should see this film to decide. And ask yourself also if you are ready to play the game with your friends.The film starts at a slow pace, and it took a while to catch me. When it did it was fantastic. It also contains a final twist in the script that I will not reveal. It's well acted and smartly written. I recommend it. There are good chances that you'll enjoy it.