By Rebecca Kumar
Strangers in Good Company
Brief Synopsis
Eight elderly women are marooned in an abandoned country house after their bus breaks down.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Cynthia Scott
Director
Alice Diablo
Alice
Constance Garneau
Constance
Winifred Holden
Winnie
Cissy Meddings
Cissy
Mary Meigs
Mary
Film Details
Also Known As
Company of Strangers, The
MPAA Rating
Genre
Adventure
Drama
Release Date
1990
Production Company
National Film Board Of Canada; National Film Board Of Canada
Distribution Company
Alliance Releasing; Alliance Releasing; Electric Pictures/Contemporary Films Ltd; First Run Features; New Vision Films; Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 40m
Synopsis
Eight elderly women are marooned in an abandoned country house after their bus breaks down.
Cast
Alice Diablo
Alice
Constance Garneau
Constance
Winifred Holden
Winnie
Cissy Meddings
Cissy
Mary Meigs
Mary
Catherine Roche
Catherine
Michelle Sweeney
Michelle
Beth Webber
Beth
Crew
Marie Bernard
Music
Sally Bochner
Screenwriter
Sally Bochner
Associate Producer
Gloria Demers
Associate Director
Gloria Demers
Screenwriter
David Devolpi
Director Of Photography
Jacques Drouin
Sound
Rina Fraticelli
Executive Producer
Christiane Gagnon
Scenic Artist
Francois Gingras
Assistant Director
Peter Katadotis
Executive Producer
Elaine Langlais
Costume Designer
Colin Neale
Executive Producer
Cynthia Scott
Screenwriter
Cynthia Scott
Screenplay
David Wilson
Editor
David Campbell Wilson
Screenplay
David Campbell Wilson
Producer
David Wilson
Producer
David Wilson
Screenplay
Film Details
Also Known As
Company of Strangers, The
MPAA Rating
Genre
Adventure
Drama
Release Date
1990
Production Company
National Film Board Of Canada; National Film Board Of Canada
Distribution Company
Alliance Releasing; Alliance Releasing; Electric Pictures/Contemporary Films Ltd; First Run Features; New Vision Films; Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 40m
Articles
Strangers in Good Company -
Merging her award-winning eye for documentary with the narrative style of a feature film, Cynthia Scott's Strangers in Good Company (1990) (released as The Company of Strangers in Canada) is exemplary docufiction. It features an all-female cast - a diverse group of seven elderly women who are out on a sightseeing trip. The women use their own names and among them are: 74-year-old Mohawk elder Alice Diabo; 88-year-old American immigrant Constance Garneau; 76-year-old English immigrant Winnie Holden; 76-year-old writer English immigrant Cissy Meddings; 74-year-old writer, painter and out lesbian Mary Meigs; 68-year-old Roman Catholic nun Catherine Roche; and 80-year-old English immigrant Beth Webber. When the tour bus breaks down and their young guide (soul singer Michelle Sweeney) injures her ankle, they are forced to fend for themselves in an isolated cottage on the edge of Quebec. Catherine tries to fix the bus with a nail file and, later, Alice, makes a fish net from a pair of pantyhose. The film is not tightly scripted. The women improvised most of the dialogue themselves, sharing their real-life stories with each other and the camera. The storyline is spliced with girlhood photos of the women as they confess their feelings on aging and mortality - without any precious nostalgia. The interaction between the women is a pleasure to watch. In one fantastic moment, Mary explains to Cissy that she hasn't had a man in life because "you know, I'm a lesbian," to which Cissy replies, "Oh, that's good." And while Constance can no longer hear her travel companions well, let alone a birdsong, a white sparrow answers to her own perfect imitation of its call. After having already won the Academy Award for her short documentary Flamenco at 5:15 (1983), in 1990, Scott's Strangers in Good Company became the highest grossing film the National Film Board of Canada ever produced.
By Rebecca Kumar
By Rebecca Kumar
Strangers in Good Company -
Merging her award-winning eye for documentary with the narrative style of a feature film, Cynthia Scott's Strangers in Good Company (1990) (released as The Company of Strangers in Canada) is exemplary docufiction. It features an all-female cast - a diverse group of seven elderly women who are out on a sightseeing trip. The women use their own names and among them are: 74-year-old Mohawk elder Alice Diabo; 88-year-old American immigrant Constance Garneau; 76-year-old English immigrant Winnie Holden; 76-year-old writer English immigrant Cissy Meddings; 74-year-old writer, painter and out lesbian Mary Meigs; 68-year-old Roman Catholic nun Catherine Roche; and 80-year-old English immigrant Beth Webber. When the tour bus breaks down and their young guide (soul singer Michelle Sweeney) injures her ankle, they are forced to fend for themselves in an isolated cottage on the edge of Quebec. Catherine tries to fix the bus with a nail file and, later, Alice, makes a fish net from a pair of pantyhose. The film is not tightly scripted. The women improvised most of the dialogue themselves, sharing their real-life stories with each other and the camera. The storyline is spliced with girlhood photos of the women as they confess their feelings on aging and mortality - without any precious nostalgia. The interaction between the women is a pleasure to watch. In one fantastic moment, Mary explains to Cissy that she hasn't had a man in life because "you know, I'm a lesbian," to which Cissy replies, "Oh, that's good." And while Constance can no longer hear her travel companions well, let alone a birdsong, a white sparrow answers to her own perfect imitation of its call. After having already won the Academy Award for her short documentary Flamenco at 5:15 (1983), in 1990, Scott's Strangers in Good Company became the highest grossing film the National Film Board of Canada ever produced.
By Rebecca Kumar
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Spring May 10, 1991
Released in United States September 13, 1991
Re-released in United States January 10, 1992
Released in United States on Video August 19, 1992
Released in United States September 1990
Released in United States November 1990
Released in United States June 1991
Shown at Toronto Festival of Festivals September 6-15, 1990.
Shown at Venice Film Festival (out of competition) September 4-15, 1990.
Shown at London Film Festival November 8-25, 1990.
Shown at Melbourne Film Festival June 7-22, 1991.
Feature debut for documentary filmmaker Cynthia Scott.
Received the 1991 Canadian Genie Award for best editing.
Released in United States Spring May 10, 1991
Re-released in United States January 10, 1992 (New York City)
Released in United States on Video August 19, 1992
Released in United States September 1990 (Shown at Toronto Festival of Festivals September 6-15, 1990.)
Released in United States September 1990 (Shown at Venice Film Festival (out of competition) September 4-15, 1990.)
Released in United States November 1990 (Shown at London Film Festival November 8-25, 1990.)
Released in United States June 1991 (Shown at Melbourne Film Festival June 7-22, 1991.)
Released in United States September 13, 1991 (Los Angeles)
