Strangers in Good Company

A superb movie dealing with life, the interplay of human strengths and weakness, and growing older. The movie uses non-professional actors playing themselves, and is wonderfully refreshing, thought provoking and moving. I give this movie a high recommendation.

'Strangers in Good Company' is an odd sort of film, precisely because of the honesty of its subjects who, other than playing their allotted stereotypical roles in our collective pop culture, are routinely ignored in film or television portrayal. Even the idiotic 'Something's Gotta Give' seemed to have such a hard time with 60 year-old characters and more so, with their relationship. Films like 'Strangers in Good Company,' on the other hand (this one being largely improvised by its cast of elderly female characters stranded in the Canadian countryside when their bus breaks down), and others like 84 Charing Cross Road, or similar films, actually give the audience a very touching, though sometimes sad, portrayal.

Here, these women, on their way to one older woman's childhood home, become good friends as they hole up in what looks like an abandoned Canadian country home, roughing it for a few days while they try to find help. In the company of each other, they develop a friendship, and learn a bit about each other's lives as the days pass. Some of them memorable, interesting tales of the women's lives (see the trivia, most of what is told is pulled from their background) and some, very sad recollections and future perceptions such as the woman who's greatest fear was being destitute and left alone with no one to care for her. It is less a story of survival in the countryside and more of a tapestry of lives being told here and there. Some of the improvisation is evident as some of the actresses seem either unsure or uncomfortable with what is going on sometimes. But nonetheless, this low-budget picture actually turned out to be a nice little underrated film about something we don't always get to see or hear.

Older women, such as those portrayed in this movie, seem to possess the ability to look at life through eyes that ring true. That is, their laughter seems more real, their tears more purposeful and deserving. And, their ability to enjoy the wonders of nature is priceless and rewarding to those that get to observe their observations of life.

I loved each and every character in this wonderful story.

This film will ring true to those of us who spent childhood afternoons with batty maiden aunts. Though batty maiden aunts vary in personality, temperament, and social skills you're sure to find one that is familiar because you have a whole busload to choose from. This beautifully shot and laconically paced film is sort of a rambling walk through the pasts of a group of older women from various backgrounds who get temporarily stranded in an isolated spot in Canada. Though the personalities of the characters are a little as-to-be-expected, the acting is guileless and the dialogue completely natural. Prepare to have your curiosity peaked about medicinal herbs, pornographic boot jacks, and the hunting habits of Cissy's cat. The only device I found a little annoying was the stopping of the action to show off old photos from the women's lives. It bothered me at the time, but looking back I understand what they were trying to do and even feel a little nostalgic about it; which, of course, is utterly appropriate. It's definitely off the beaten track, not either as flamboyant or banal as art films are want to be. But, In Good Company is definitely a well made piece worthy of a larger audience.

I don't know where you'll ever find another film quite like STRANGERS IN GOOD COMPANY (or The Company Of Strangers, as the title appears on the DVD). If you want more from a movie than action, special effects and cliche situations and characters, are willing to be just a bit patient (as life sometimes requires) and, most importantly, understand that every human being is interesting in their own way and has their own story to tell, this film will reward you generously.

Eight women - all senior citizens, except for the driver - are on a small bus traveling through the Canadian countryside. We don't know who they are, or where they're going (though the production notes on the DVD explain it), except that they're making a small detour to see the lakeside cottage at which one of them spent summers in her youth, when the bus breaks down and strands them.

As they set about dealing with their predicament, we come to know these women, and learn that each is a survivor of one or more cruel blows: major calamities such as the Blitz, a bad marriage or the death of a child, or the more quiet calamity of illness and the alienation that can come with old age. To put it another way: life. Mind you, these are not tragic, "damaged" people; it's just that they've experienced the range of ups and downs that any full life contains, and therefore assess their situation as not much more than a temporary inconvenience, coping with it in the most practical of manners: attempting to repair the bus, seeking shelter and food, making sleeping arrangements and, yes, even entertaining themselves and each other, until help can arrive or be found.

In the purest sense, this film is about surviving, and living, which can often be two different things. If there is a "message" here, it's embodied in the moment when several of the women gather on the porch of the abandoned house in which they've taken refuge and, both as a call to anyone who might be within earshot, and as a personal affirmation, shout into the wilderness, "We're here....we're alive!"

The characters and their interaction are so genuine and moving, the effect is almost startling. In the midst of idle chit-chat during a mundane task such as picking berries, long-harbored and deeply felt pain can be revealed and shared and, within moments, the small talk is resumed. This is, of course, not the way such things are handled in major studio movies, but it is the way they often happen in real life, and this - along with the 110% believability of the performances - is what gives these scenes their power.

Both the film and the characters are at once open yet enigmatic. This is not the geriatric version of The Big Chill; questions are left unanswered and issues remain unresolved. Without standard contrived crises and manufactured conflict, what this film delivers is so fascinating simply because it's so real. If you possess even half a brain and an ounce of sensitivity, I can't imagine your finding this group of women anything but the very best of good company.