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Private Fears in Public Places

Play trailer Poster for Private Fears in Public Places Released Apr 13, 2007 2h 3m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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76% Tomatometer 68 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Six Parisians engage in a lonely and mostly unsuccessful search for real love: Nicole (Sabine Azéma) and Dan (Pierre Arditi) are engaged to be married, but his drinking drives them apart; Thierry (Isabelle Carré) flirts with a religious co-worker (André Dussollier) who has a secret vice; Gaelle (Lambert Wilson) answers numerous personal ads, but her dates never show up.
Private Fears in Public Places

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The premise isn't anything new, but director Alain Resnais' attention to detail and smooth camerawork gives this movie a delicate edge.

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Critics Reviews

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Ben Kenigsberg Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Glenn Kenny Premiere Magazine What makes Private Fears so extraordinary is not just how it completely upends the expectations that have come to seem inherent in such a structure, but how Resnais constantly pushes the boundaries of his, well, let's call it visual depiction. Rated: 4/4 Jan 4, 2008 Full Review Desson Thomson Washington Post What reaches us, most of all, are the hidden, unmet longings that keep the film's Parisian characters from finding true happiness. Oct 27, 2007 Full Review Carlos Marañón Cinemanía (Spain) Intersecting stories of heartbreak and loneliness seen a thousand times. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 2/5 Nov 4, 2020 Full Review Mattie Lucas The Dispatch (Lexington, NC) It is a beautifully crafted work, with lovely cinematography by Eric Gautier and a sharp screenplay by Jean-Michel Ribes, that finds hope in a world where life doesn't always work out the way it was planned. Rated: 3/4 Jun 6, 2019 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion A graceful roundelay of disconnection Aug 27, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (241) audience reviews
isla s I liked this film, for the way the various characters manage to open up to their partner/friend/relative, the thoughtful dialogue and there's the ocassional amusing situation that I enjoyed too. I liked that it tackled basic themes, of isolation, aging and so on but in a decent way. Perhaps a little sentimental but its not an awfully cheesy film as such. Its a good, thoughtful film, a little bittersweet but generally its a film I'd recommend. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member "The tenderness with which Resnais observes their efforts makes for genuinely enchanting entertainment." Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Ayckbourn in French: what was I thinking? It's very stagey, and not a little weird. I don't think we really connected with this one, despite good reviews and festival awards. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Good performances can't quite atone for the script's stage origins. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Interlinked relationships story so not too original, but watchable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Private Fears in Public Places looks beautiful but it lacks in substance. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Private Fears in Public Places

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Private Fears in Public Places

A scene from the film "Private Fears in Public Places." A scene from the film "Private Fears in Public Places." A scene from the film "Private Fears in Public Places." A scene from the film "Private Fears in Public Places." A scene from the film "Private Fears in Public Places." Private Fears in Public Places (2006) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Six Parisians engage in a lonely and mostly unsuccessful search for real love: Nicole (Sabine Azéma) and Dan (Pierre Arditi) are engaged to be married, but his drinking drives them apart; Thierry (Isabelle Carré) flirts with a religious co-worker (André Dussollier) who has a secret vice; Gaelle (Lambert Wilson) answers numerous personal ads, but her dates never show up.
Director
Alain Resnais
Producer
Bruno Pèsery
Screenwriter
Alain Resnais, Jean-Michel Ribes, Alan Ayckbourn
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Studio Canal
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 13, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$134.2K
Runtime
2h 3m