...engaging and discerning culture, as a way of life...

November 18, 2005

Intimate Strangers - 7

A French film (with subtitles) about mistaken identity that takes an interesting turn, and I don't mean a trick ending (although it looks like it might have one midway through). A woman, Anna, mistakes a tax lawyers office for a psychiatrist. This seems impossible but the film does a fantastic job of making this believable. The truth soon comes out but the connection has been made. The film then stays away from Hollywood cliches by avoiding the soap opera sex romp. It really is about two people wanting to know the truth and listening to one another's story. It requires trust and vulnerability to listen, but the payoff as these characters find out is worth it. The characters are no longer living through the medium of television which is hinted at through out the film. Instead they have found a way to really live their own lives that is connected through truthtelling. If you read my review of The Good Girl, this film is really its opposite theme-wise. Lies and distrust disconnect people while the truth helps people understand and see how their lives are intertwined in being human.

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