Between Strangers (2002)

Director:

Edoardo Ponti

Writer:

Edoardo Ponti (written by)

Release Date:

13 September 2002 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Three strangers - one secret.

Plot:

Three women confront their pasts which changes their futures.

Plot Keywords:

Toronto | Cellist | Angola | Friend | Beating

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Olivia
Mira Sorvino	...	Natalia Bauer
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Catherine
Pete Postlethwaite	...	John
Julian Richings	...	Nigel
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Alexander Bauer
Malcolm McDowell	...	Alan Baxter
Len Doncheff	...	Grocery Store Owner
Corey Sevier	...	Jeb
Ngozi Taymah Armatrading	...	Angolan War Child
Dov Tiefenbach	...	Matt
Alex House	...	Kevin
Noam Jenkins	...	Rogelio
Sydney Pearson	...	Little Girl
Andrew Tarbet	...	George

Also Known As:

Coeurs inconnus (Canada: French title)
Cuori estranei (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

95 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Canada | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Germany:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Equinox Entertainment

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Natalia gets her "contact sheets" she views them on a lightbox. The contact sheets are positive proofs printed on paper. A lightbox, used for viewing negatives or transparencies, would be useless with a print.

Movie Connections:

Featured in O Lucky Malcolm! (2006)

An absolute delight

Everything about this movie was perfect - the three lead characters were played with such depth and restraint! Although I have never been in the position of any of these women (luckily), I feel like I could relate to their emotions, their ambivalence, their sadness and their ultimate strength. If ever there was a movie that showed the power of living through adversity, this is it! Gerard Depardieu was lovely as an intuitive friend - he was in it just a little, but his presence always moved the movie forward. Sophia Loren's husband was a perfectly human foil - both had shattered dreams and took two different paths in dealing with it, but both paths were completely understandable. Although his character could have been horribly despicable (and, boy!, some of his dialog was shockingly mean), he didn't seem like a monster. Not even the hoodlums were one-dimensional. Miro Sorvino took my breath away, Deborah Unger's restraint was outstanding and Sophia Loren - well, her best role, ever. This is a movie for the down-hearted, for those at impossible crossroads, and for those who like hopeful - not happy - endings.