The news of a prison escape by a dangerous offender causes panic in a small community nearby, who organize themselves in order to defend their territory. This is the starting point for the film "Les voisins", and could be the synopsis of a thriller. The frailties and disabilities of this elderly communities are portrayed with humour and tenderness, giving the movie a tone close to burlesque. A certain strangeness and irrationality paradoxically stem from the absolute banality of the sets and the work of sound and images which suggest a menace and a sense of fear. The director Benjamin Hameury returns to the neighbourhood of his childhood, recruiting his former neighbours as actors. Hameury belongs to the collective COMET, which is not distinguished by any common style or aesthetic and thematic affinities, only a desire for independence and unconventional cinema. (MD)