Between Strangers

It is rare coming from such a young filmmaker to see a film with this maturity and understanding for women. I recommend it to anyone who wishes not only to be moved but also inspired by the story's message: the courage to be yourself no matter what. This film will stay in me for a long long time.

The elements of Between Strangers are impressive. Against the background of a Toronto made beautiful by selectivity, a cast of skilled actors work to fulfil the writer's deep material. The film keeps one's attention thanks to the actors' sensitive work. The director's interweaving of the subplots is often moving, sometimes clumsy. The film also puzzles us with the inexplicable behaviours of some of the characters, and the understatement of some themes that beg for deeper exploration. Nevertheless, a praiseworthy effort. 6.5/10.

What a wonderful film! What a superb cast. What a sensitive, haunting story. Everything comes to-gether --- the music, the cinematography, the story --- to produce a beautiful motion picture. A very different role for Sophia Loren. As you might expect, she excels. But so does everybody else. The scene in the book store is one of cinema's great moments. The silver screen has invincible power when it used so masterfully. And how very nice to see Toronto play itself for a change instead of acting as a stand in for some other place. A few films like this would do far more to revive the city's shattered image than concerts by the Stones and visits by Conan O'Brien. This film is a keeper!!!

This movie was better than expected, well acted and the little dramas were sincere. It's got Deborah Kara Unger AND Mira Sorvino plus many other high caliber actors in small parts. But there's some negatives that keep it from greatness.

The 3 vandals were too disturbing for this kind of film and made me want to twist their necks. No such justice in the movie.

The connection between the three female leads is too far fetched and virtually non-existent. The ending does not make any sense, why are these 3 women waiting at the same table at the airport, they all have different destinations. The little girl makes no sense other than being a poorly constructed plot device to link the three women. Unnecessary too because this story already has a link between them: they're on a crossroad between the past and the present, up to something new in their life.

Also, the photographer accidentally meeting with an Angolian, as was mentioned here before, is WAY too coincidental.

It seems that this kind of storytelling has become popular with Short Cuts and Magnolia, of which the first is by far the best.

I caught this on a recent airline flight. I had seen the dreadful reviews given it when it played the Toronto Film Festival so was prepared for appalling schlock. Considering it was Sophia's son's first effort as a director (though admittedly surrounding himself with a stellar cast from Sophia cashing in some major chips)he extracted good performances from everyone. A very light story involving three disparate women is gracefully laced together in the end as they come to their own conclusions as to what their lives should be about. 6 out of 10.