Once We Were Strangers (1997)

Antonio is a seductive, charismatic Sicilian living illegally in New York. He wanders from job to job, lives as a squatter and enjoys a carefree romantic tryst with a wealthy art dealer. ... See full summary »

Director:

Emanuele Crialese

Writer:

Emanuele Crialese

Stars:

Vincenzo Amato, Jessica Whitney Gould, Anjalee Deshpande

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincenzo Amato	...	Antonio
Jessica Whitney Gould	...	Ellen
Anjalee Deshpande	...	Devi
Ajay Naidu	...	Apu
Lynn Cohen	...	Natasha
Lázaro Pérez	...	Homeless Man (as Lazaro Perez)
Stephen Michaels	...	Doctor
Adrián Witzke	...	Todd (as Adrian Witzke)
Seamus McNally	...	Photographer / Bar Creep
Alisha McKinney	...	Supermarket Cashier
Sherry Skinker	...	Jen
Ostaro	...	Porn Shop Owner
Lou George	...	Building Security
Susan Mitchell	...	Cop
James Reno	...	Immigration Officer

Storyline

Antonio is a seductive, charismatic Sicilian living illegally in New York. He wanders from job to job, lives as a squatter and enjoys a carefree romantic tryst with a wealthy art dealer. When he falls in love with Ellen, a strong-willed radio talk-show host who is set to move to Paris within a few days, he decides he must find a way to keep her from leaving. Meanwhile, Antonio's friend Apu faces a love challenge of his own. Apu is a young Indian-turned-New Yorker who was sent from his homeland with his family's life savings to find the American dream of success and fulfillment. He works hard at odds jobs-- from being a guinea pig in a drug-testing lab to dubbing porno films. Then his life is completely uprooted on the day his pre-arranged wife from India arrives in New York--the woman chosen by their families when they were children, one he hasn't seen since he was 8 and she was 4. Apu is caught between the old world and the new--trying to find love and happiness within the confines ...

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Plot Keywords:

independent film

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Italian Hindi

Release Date:

5 May 1999 (France)

Also Known As:

Idegenek voltunk

Company Credits

Production Co:

Backpain Productions, Acquario Films, Videa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Antonio: Beautiful women are for men with no imagination.

User Reviews

Great, great, great

How come I always happen to come across the good movies on tv and not in the theatres. Once We Were Strangers is a great example for this question. This gem didn't even open in theatres here in Holland, probably because the distributors thought it would have been unmarketable and too small, whatever that may mean. With the right marketing strategy this movie could have been a pretty decent box-office player, especially in arthouses (and we have quite a lot of those here in Holland.) Shame on them.

It reminded me a lot of the movies Edward Burns made, especially She's The One. The tone is really sweet and not at all threatening, although it is situated in a quite hostile city, New York City. The humor was very well timed, performances were allround great.

The only problem I had was that the audience had to keep up with to very distinct love stories unfolding at the same time, and that in the process of this happening the relationship of the Indian guy was somewhat neglected in the story.

But it was nonetheless a very enjoyable flick.

8/10