Between Strangers 2002

Three women in Toronto face profound emotional dilemmas tied to the men in their lives. Olivia, who tends to her husband John, a wheelchair user, struggles with her aspirations of becoming an artist. Despite her passion for art, John believes she is squandering her potential. Unexpectedly, she finds support from Max, an eccentric French gardener. Beneath her surface struggles, Olivia guards a painful secret—a daughter she relinquished for adoption in Italy. This buried truth weighs heavily on her, often spilling into her artwork as she expresses her anxieties through her drawings.

Meanwhile, Natalia, a driven news photographer, grapples with the haunting memories from her assignment in Angola. Capturing a heart-wrenching portrait of a crying child orphaned by war, she becomes conflicted when her father Alexander, a renowned photojournalist, beams with pride as the image garners attention on the cover of a prestigious magazine. Yet, rather than feeling fulfilled, Natalia is plagued by the reality that despite her contributions to the child’s fame, she couldn’t intervene in saving her life.

Lastly, there’s Catherine, a celebrated cello player from New York who travels to Toronto to record a new album. Her professional achievements, however, are overshadowed by a traumatic past involving her father, Alan, who brutally murdered her mother during her childhood. The release of Alan from prison stirs deep turmoil within her, prompting Catherine to consider sacrificing her husband, children, and musical career to confront him. Obsessed with the idea of ending his life, she grapples with the challenge of believing whether he has truly changed or if he remains the monster of her past.