A poignant story about love, family and the ghosts of our past. When Adam connects with a mysterious neighbor, it stirs up things he had long blocked out. Soon, he’s pulled back to his childhood home, where his parents appear to be living, 30 years after they died. A film by Andrew Haigh, starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell.

Adam (Andrew Scott), a struggling screenwriter living alone in his London apartment, casually walks down and exits the building one night when the sound of a fire alarm blasts through it. To his surprise, he is the only one outside. He looks up, expecting to see other tenants, but there was only one other occupant: the man on the sixth floor peering out his window.

At his apartment, Adam is approached by a mysterious drunk man from the sixth floor. The man introduces himself as Harry (Paul Mescal). After playful flirting, Harry asks if he can come in for a drink. If not, Harry hints at something else Adam might be interested in. Adam, intrigued by the offer yet cautious of the stranger, politely refuses to let Harry into his apartment.

Returning to his script about his own life, Adam sifts through old family photos, longing to reconnect with his past. He revisits his childhood home, the fear holding him back from entering. As he strolls through town, a familiar face catches his eye near the woods. He follows the man, only to discover it’s his father (Jamie Bell), who invites him home to meet his mother (Claire Foy). Their reunion is filled with warmth and joy, years of separation melting away. Eagerly, they inquire about his life and career as a screenwriter.

Returning to London, Adam encounters Harry at the elevator. As Harry steps out on the sixth floor, Adam strikes up a conversation, asking if he’d still be interested in that drink. The elevator doors close before Adam can hear any answer. The next day, Adam spots Harry in the yard below and waves at him. Harry waves back, and their romantic relationship begins. Adam reveals that his parents died in a car accident years ago, when he was only 12 years old.

Adam keeps revisiting his childhood home, seeking conversations with his parents, yet sometimes only one is present. But the unsettling reality is that they died long ago. Are these encounters mere figments of his imagination, or could their spirits truly be trapped within these familiar walls?

ALL OF US STRANGERS is a romantic fantasy film written and directed by British filmmaker Andrew Haigh, based on the 1987 novel 異人たちとの夏 by Japanese author Taichi Yamada (山田太一). The original Japanese novel won the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize (山本周五郎賞) for best literary novel, and was translated into several languages, including English (STRANGERS), German (SOMMER MIT FREMDEN), French (PRÉSENCES D’UN ÉTÉ), and Swedish (FRÄMLINGAR). The novel was adapted into a Japanese film 異人たちとの夏 in 1988.

山本周五郎賞 (The Yamamoto Shugoro Prize) is a Japanese literary award established in 1988 in memory of author Shugoro Yamamoto. It was created and continues to be sponsored by the Shinchosha Publishing company, which published Yamamoto’s Complete Works. The prize is awarded annually to a new work of fiction considered to exemplify the art of storytelling, by a five-person panel consisting of fellow authors. Winners receive ¥1 million.

ALL OF US STRANGERS is a triumph of storytelling, boasting a pitch-perfect cast, a captivating narrative, and breathtakingly sublime cinematography. The performances by Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell are mesmerizing, weaving a tapestry of emotions that simultaneously warms and breaks the heart. This emotionally resonant film masterfully navigates the nuances of love, loss, and connection, leaving audiences both deeply moved and profoundly introspective.

ALL OF US STRANGERS premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2023. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 22 December, and in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2024.