Pondering Us Strangers & Second Chances...

TC provides his take on the Hulu feature film, “All of Us Strangers.” Overlooked? By the Academy, yes. But to TC, it’s a “must see.” Read on! – the editor

Ponder this: Think back when you lost your parents. During your grief, had you ever wished for the opportunity to have a frank conversation with you parents… NOW? Any statute of limitations had expired, after all what can they do to you now? They’re dead.

Would you spin at the thought they would not accept you?
Would you hope you would be forgiven?’
Would you think of them replying to you with common sayings you expect from them?

During periods of grief, we sometimes see signs of divine intervention.

The Jack Benny Show for my Dad…
Crumb buns for my Mom…
Cher for my late roommate Jerry…
And the film, Now Voyager, for my late local friend Cameron.

What if this divine intervention became more realistic?

Enter 2024, at the time when we are reviewing top 10 lists for best films of 2023. A friend of mine from Tucson, AZ hosted a Movie Podcast with two film fans. With the Barbiheimer wave subsiding, the best film for him of 2023 was a small British film called “All Of Us Strangers.”

It’s based, on the novel “Strangers” by Taichi Yamada. In the film, the central plot surrounds Adam, a gay man in his 40’s, living a life in solitude, in a London apartment building mostly unoccupied, except for another young man Harry, who he meets after a false fire alarm. Harry visits Adam, wanting to meet up for a connection/hook up. Adam politely declines, however, after browsing his collection of photos and memories of his early life, not only does he eventually let him in to his life, but he also gets the inclination to visit his childhood home, that has since been unoccupied. Or so we thought.

As he visits the house, his parents are there, alive. Yet, they had died in a horrible auto accident, in the 1980’s!

His parents are the same age they were when they were killed, in the same 80’s clothing they wore the last days of their life. What looks like the ultimate closure of unfinished business, “All of Us Strangers” is the ultimate tale of a closed heart (as a matter of self-survival), that opens up. In closure, what could you discuss with loved ones, and what would you expect the answer you would receive?

Impact on Me…

Needless to say, I had the same reaction as my friend in Tucson had when he screened it. It haunted me, to the point of speculating, what would a conversation be like with a loved one after they passed?

In the United States, Searchlight Pictures, the “art-house” division of 20th Century (FOX) Pictures, now part of Disney, originally slated this film as an exclusive release on the sister streamer Hulu. After the positive reaction, Searchlight gave it a theatrical release, with the hope of gaining Oscar consideration. Overlooked by the Academy, it arrived on Hulu on February 22.

‘Nuff Said!

Word-of-mouth will make this a must see on your wish list/cue. Make sure to have your Kleenex on standby.

Thanks for reading and hanging out with me!–TC