Stranger Things

Following the death of her mother, Oona travels to clean out the tiny seaside cottage where she had lived alone. After showing a real-estate agent the house, Oona is startled by a noise in another room and discovers Mani, a mysterious homeless man of Middle Eastern origin. She chases him out, but as Mani flees from the property, he leaves behind a journal filled with sketches. Moved by his drawings, Oona finds Mani in town, returns his journal, and invites to stay in her garden shed. Despite the differences between them, the two lonely people gradually form an unusual intimacy. This compelling film, set on the southern coast of England, won the Grand Jury Prize at both the Slamdance and Woodstock film festivals. Calling the film “delicate, dignified, soulful,” Variety writes: “The pic is essentially a two-hander, its action muted and its pretensions modest. At the same time, its theme — the capacity of the heart to make connections, under odd and unlikely circumstances — harbors something titanic.”