To put it simply, Rien de Personnel (the opening film for the 48th edition of the Critic’s Week) is a sophisticated film that really only gets going in the final act, which is sort of the point of Mathias Gokalp and Nadine Lamari‘s screenplay. Shot in one location, the story takes place during the course of one evening, where employees of a drug company sip on cocktails and start worrying about their own future with the company as rumors circulate that it is up for sale. Told via the vantage point of several of these workers, Gokalp creates a Gosford Park-like scenario where gossip spreads like wildfire and he reuses the same footage over and over again by increasing the length and further adding details as to the true cause and effects. What occurs is that our perceptions of who these characters really are changes over time. Think the game of clue without a murder. The entire team were on hand to present the film.
Five years ago Mathias Gokalp had the rare pleasure of presenting a short film of his in both the Director’s Fortnight and Critic’s Week section. Rezo Films were backing his project.
Jean-Pierre Darroussin came to the same section last year with Les Grandes Personnes – I guess he likes attaching himself to projects from first time directors.
Not a popular face with North American audiences, Melanie Doutey played in Claude Chabrol’s The Flower of Evil.
Veteran actor Pascal Greggory: La vie en rose, The Page Turner, Gabrielle.
