There are several very compelling stories being told in “I was a Stranger” and themes ranging from escaping corruption to familial love. These stories are linked together through an anthology style of filmmaking, and are pretty solid in their own right. What I find lacking however is the overarching message. I don’t know if these glimpses into lives unfamiliar to a lot of people is necessarily saying anything other than “look at how horrible this is.” I do like how they’re all shot. They look pretty stylized and most of the characters are engaging enough to stick with the project. I found it fairly predictable unfortunately, but I guess with multiple stories being woven together with characters being featured across several sections can get a bit repetitive. Although the different stories are interesting, if you’ve attached yourself to one of the characters they’re gone with the next one almost entirely, and there isn’t very much time to connect with them. Hey, maybe that’s the point and the things they are involved with warrant disappearance. Overall, cool idea but not saying too much.

There are several very compelling stories being told in “I was a Stranger” and themes ranging from escaping corruption to familial love. These stories are linked together through an anthology style of filmmaking, and are pretty solid in their own right. What I find lacking however is the overarching message. I don’t know if these glimpses into lives unfamiliar to a lot of people is necessarily saying anything other than “look at how horrible this is.” I do like how they’re all shot. They look pretty stylized and most of the characters are engaging enough to stick with the project. I found it fairly predictable unfortunately, but I guess with multiple stories being woven together with characters being featured across several sections can get a bit repetitive. Although the different stories are interesting, if you’ve attached yourself to one of the characters they’re gone with the next one almost entirely, and there isn’t very much time to connect with them. Hey, maybe that’s the point and the things they are involved with warrant disappearance. Overall, cool idea but not saying too much.

This one hurt. 

Humanity at its worst, its best, and in survival. This one will stay with me.

This one hurt. 

Humanity at its worst, its best, and in survival. This one will stay with me.

I’m not a huge fan of angel studios, but 2026 Kalie is watching films she typically wouldn’t, and this is definitely one of them. 

the score was outstanding and the movie itself was beautiful. I loved all of the different parts and the stories interconnecting, the cold cuts to the next person was shocking and it worked. 

I did cry once, at the end during the captain’s story when Fathi told Stavros “it’s not your fault” as he was performing cpr on Sami… absolutely gut wrenching

I’m not a huge fan of angel studios, but 2026 Kalie is watching films she typically wouldn’t, and this is definitely one of them. 

the score was outstanding and the movie itself was beautiful. I loved all of the different parts and the stories interconnecting, the cold cuts to the next person was shocking and it worked. 

I did cry once, at the end during the captain’s story when Fathi told Stavros “it’s not your fault” as he was performing cpr on Sami… absolutely gut wrenching

Compelling movie that was moving. I think it had good depiction as a Syrian lady next to me was crying. I had a good conversation with her about her expiriences. But still, the movie was lacking in some portions.

Compelling movie that was moving. I think it had good depiction as a Syrian lady next to me was crying. I had a good conversation with her about her expiriences. But still, the movie was lacking in some portions.

The films structure à la ‘Weapons’ or ‘House of Dynamite’ was most effective in the first half when it’s used to set up characters right before they meet during a challenging moment. 

The technique of set up and payoff doesn’t work as well later because we effectively fall into a linear structure where we’re just picking up from the previous point of view. 

Still, there is a lot of tension throughout bolstered by genuinely impressive performances from the entire cast.

The films structure à la ‘Weapons’ or ‘House of Dynamite’ was most effective in the first half when it’s used to set up characters right before they meet during a challenging moment. 

The technique of set up and payoff doesn’t work as well later because we effectively fall into a linear structure where we’re just picking up from the previous point of view. 

Still, there is a lot of tension throughout bolstered by genuinely impressive performances from the entire cast.