The Kindness of Strangers

A meeting between strangers leads to surprising consequences in festival favorite Lone Scherfig’s enthusiastic and deeply humane drama.

Clara (Zoe Kazan) flees to New York together with both her sons to hide from her violent husband. When their car is impounded they are left to a hard life on the streets and are forced to rely on strangers to get by. An established Russian restaurant in Manhattan, where the owner Timofej (Bill Nighy) is always infallible in his comic timing, becomes a temporary sanctuary. With Tahar Rahim and Andrea Riseborough in the other main roles, Lone Scherfig focuses on highlighting mankind’s generosity and the individual’s ability to do good.

• Tobias Åkesson