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The Comfort of Strangers

6.3

1,364

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Original title

The Comfort of Strangers

Year

1990

Running time

100 min.

Country

United Kingdom

Director

Paul Schrader

Screenwriter

Harold Pinter. Novel: Ian McEwan

Cast

Music

Angelo Badalamenti

Cinematography

Dante Spinotti

Producer

Co-production United Kingdom-Italy;

Reteitalia, The Rank Organisation, Sovereign Pictures, Erre Produzioni

Genre

Drama. Romance. Mystery | Psychological Drama

Movie Groups

Ian McEwan Adaptations

Synopsis

An English couple holiday in Venice to sort out their relationship. There is some friction and distance between them, and we also sense they are being watched. One evening, they lose their way looking for a restaurant, and a stranger invites them to accompany him. He plies them with wine and grotesque stories from his childhood. They leave disoriented, physically ill, and morally repelled. But, next day, when the stranger sees them in the piazza, they accept an invitation to his sumptuous flat. After this visit, the pair find the depth to face questions about each other, only to be drawn back into the mysterious and menacing fantasies of the stranger and his mate.

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Awards: 1990: Cannes Film Festival: Official Selection (Out of Competition)

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Critics' reviews

"Mr. Schrader is a director of great rigor and discipline. The movie is fascinated by the baroque behavior it observes, but without imitating it."

Vincent Canby: The New York Times
"This piece is impeccably tailored, and it looks awfully good even when it isn't making sense"

Bill Cosford: Miami Herald
"Neither the beguiling romance of Venice nor the undraped bodies of Natasha Richardson and Rupert Everett can disguise the hollowness of 'The Comfort of Strangers.'"

Variety Staff: Variety
"It is a film that demands that you pay close attention, then rewards none of your diligence."

Mark Caro: Chicago Tribune
"Whatever this movie's about, it's tailor-made for its audience. It's for those who fantasize about steamy afternoons in European hotel rooms"

Desson Thomson: The Washington Post

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The Comfort of Strangers

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