Strangers in Good Company

Starring:Beth Webber, Cissy Meddings, Alice Diabo, Mary Meigs, Michelle Sweeney, Constance Garneau, Catherine Roche (II), Winifred Holden
Director: Cynthia Scott
Studio: First Run Features
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This touching, 1991 Canadian film directed by Cynthia Scott takes the unusual step of casting nonprofessional actors, and the gamble pays off very well indeed. The story concerns eight elderly women whose tour bus breaks down driving through the wilderness. While waiting to be rescued, they find an abandoned house and look for food. The days and nights they end up spending away from civilization prove restorative to their spirits as each character gets an opportunity to tell her life story. The ensemble cast, as it turns out, essentially plays themselves in the film: the tales they tell are truly their own. A very talky, slowly paced production, it's best to get into the gentle rhythm of Scott's design and let the experience flow in the same way it does for the performers. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Strangers in Good Company is an Excellent Movie.......2006-03-29

I thoroughly enjoyed Strangers in Good Company. It is my new favourite movie.

Brilliant and Endearing.......2006-02-24

This movie is one of the best. A heart warming, slow paced reflection on life, the indomitable human spirit, and the meaning of true friendship when it occurs between strangers. Join this group of elderly ladies whose day outing on a bus turns into a journey of interdependence, self disclosure and survival. The spirit of these characters is wonderful to see unfold and it is made all the better when it becomes clear that they are in fact 'acting' their own lives. The movie is accompanied by a Director's commentary that should not be missed and an outline of the characters. Anyone with a heart - and maybe an elderly mother/aunt/grandmother - will not fail to be moved by this brilliant movie. A must see and an exceptional addition to your library - mine is nearly always 'out on loan'!

Russell Mills. Sydney, Australia

Finally on DVD! A must see movie.......2005-10-22

It is heartwarming and you'll want to meet the women in this movie. I was so happy when I saw it came out on DVD. If you have never heard of this movie, take a chance and see it!

It's okay to be yourself........2005-06-09

The music was beautiful, next the scenery, then the honesty of the characters in their human condition and the peaceful pace. It is okay to be yourself...whatever.

"Survivor" for Seniors, but OH, so good!.......2004-12-20

This is a seriously good movie, for those on the search for a serious good movie, but don't go expecting much by way of a plot. With much of it improv, it feels more like a documentary. Like "survivor for seniors." What happens if you drop a busload of very old women off in the woods and tell them to fend for themselves?

It's all very civilized, and there's not a lot of urgency about it. No pulling straws to see who gets eaten. Just a bunch of old women (and one mildly injured young one) trying to figure out how to divide an apple into 7ths while sharing the details of their lives. The most intriguing, for me, aspect of this film is that the actresses played themselves. Nonagenerian Constance Garneau was really Nonagenerian Constance Garneau, and when she weeps with fear at the thought of her impending death it doesn't feel like acting. Octagenerian Cissy Medding's bewildered grief as she faces her own fear of a life unloved and alone is not feigned.

But don't let me mislead you--this movie is not depressing. It's affirming. These old girls get along very nicely with each other and their world, and while there are no answers to the deeper dilemmas they face (we do get the sense that Constance may find hers), they manage their present challenge with an enviable bon vivant. In places, in fact, it's very funny. The interaction between Mary Meigs and Cissy Meddings when Mary reveals her awkward secret is priceless.

Good friends, good movie. I highly recommend.

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