Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times (2017) User Reviews

a story about personal growth

[mvrv33 · 9/10 · 19 December 2021]

The story of "Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" revolves around two men who cross paths with each other at different times in their lives. Each meeting has a great impact on one or other of them. Interestingly, the meetings are not displayed in chronological order. Starting with the second encounter, Alistair is introduced as a racist man, discriminating against Samir who merely tries to get money from a cashpoint. His actions soon backfire on him when he meets Samir for the third time. The first meeting of the protagonists is inserted before their last reencounter. This part of the movie offers some context to Alistair's racist behavior and the audience gets an idea about the environment he grew up in. I think the placing of the different sequences is very well chosen. The non-linear narrative adds greatly to the development of Alistair's character and the story in general. "Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is a story about racism but even more about reaching out to each other and personal growth. A marvelous movie that is definitely worth watching!

experience of feeling strange

[wknapriv · 8/10 · 12 January 2024]

"Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is a drama about two men. The story is about a white man with ginger hair and another man who seems to be an ethnic minority. They meet at the cash point and then the story progresses. This film consists of five stories of times they meet, but they do not remember their previous meeting at some time. This work is interesting as each time they meet is not in order. However, as the narrative progresses, the truth and their past are released. Thanks to the order, we can enjoy the suspense and that is one of the reasons I recommend this film. Their personality being opposite is another reason we can find the film interesting. It is a little difficult to understand the situation, so if you watch this film, you should listen carefully to what they say. I recommend this film to all generations as this is heartwarming and there is no particular age to watch.

Good film

[ganpon · 8/10 · 20 July 2021]

The story is about two men who meet in five different situations in their lives. However, the scene is not in the order and the first time comes into the fourth scene. Therefore, the story begins from the second scene where they are quarreling at the cash point. As time goes by, we can find that their relationship gets better even if neither of them remembers the other each time.

At the first scene which is the second time they meet, Alistair treats the Asian man, Samir, badly. From the second scene which is the third time they meet, that does not happen. I think people watching this film think: 'Why does Alistair treats Samir so badly?' in the first scene. And the reason for it is revealed in the fourth scene which is the first time they meet when they are children. I thought the story shows Alistair's change of mind about how he treats other people. What is important is not the race but the humanity. In that sense, I thought that it is a good film.

superb

[Kirpianuscus · 3 April 2021]

Maybe, superb is the only fair term to define it. Because it is just the expected telegram for many of us. Two men, very differents for so many aspects. And five meetings as borders of ages. Different reactions, different situations. And the fusion between the first and the last meeting. Short, a sort of contemporary poem. Must see it !

Beautiful and a Must See!

[PamelaClaire1 · 10/10 · 1 June 2018]

I loved this short film. A poignant look into today's world and all of it's judgmental fervor. Wonderfully thought-provoking and surprising. Everyone should watch!

Loved this

[vidpaleri · 10/10 · 8 November 2018]

Fantastic, would defo recommend, saw this at Manhattan film festival, loved it

Marvellous and hails back to when films tell a simple story beautifully.

[filmproduction-07563 · 10/10 · 2 June 2018]

A very well produced and directed short-film with excellent actors. Hails back to when films told a simple story beautifully. In every scene not a moment is wasted. Markou is a director to watch especially skilled in realistic, kitchen-sink drama. His debut 'Papadopoulos & Sons' is a wonderful little film. If you like a 'comic-book-cgi' this is not the film for you - however if you value Quality and a good story you will love and appreciate this little gem of a film.

good depicted

[risa_gu · 8/10 · 25 December 2021]

This is a short film released in 2007. This story is about two men, who happen to encounter each other five times in their lives. They are strangers to each other, but they meet at a crucial moment, a turning point in their lives.

The film is not depicted in a usual order but in a special order: it begins with the scene where they meet for the second time, and after depicts their third and fourth meetings. Then, the first meeting is depicted, and the fifth meeting are depicted in the end. I thought the change in the order of meeting is effective. They were compassionate as children, but later their arrogance and resentment sometimes showed. However, at times they helped each other, and at their fifth meeting, we surely know how much they care for each other. I think it is a heartwarming film, and I like it.

They are always "strangers" not friends

[nobaryuta · 6/10 · 13 July 2021]

The short film "Two strangers who meet five times" is the story about literally two men who meet five times as in the title. This short film starts at a cashpoint. Alistair, a white guy, is irritated waiting for Samir, a man of middle-eastern appearance who is trying to withdraw cash slowly. Alistair makes a discriminatory comment to him and Samir leaves. Then, Alistair has a job interview and it goes well until he meets Samir. Samir is the CEO and, because of Alistair's mean behavior, Alistair fails to land the job. Years later, Samir sees Alistair, who is now homeless and realizes what happened to Alistair after his job interview. Even though Samir seems not to remember him, he is nice to him and finally gives money.

This short film is an example non-linear story telling so it starts with the second time they meet. The story goes to third time and fourth time next, and then first time. Lastly, the scene goes to the fifth time. This construction of the narrative helps us to understand how Alistair's feeling changes through the scenes. In addition, because they are always strangers, it is easier to see their changes. If they are friends not strangers, the attitude and behavior could be different. I also like the irony that Alistair finally become nice to Samir even though he behaves not nicely the first time.

Marvellous

[jamestkirk-29928 · 10/10 · 12 August 2019]

A beautifully-told story of our times directed with such a light touch by Marcus Markou allowing the tension and emotions betwen the actors to reach out to the audience. How can two strangers meet five times? What if they don't recognise each other each time - until the end when it is the face of the human heart that brings recognition to all. Putting The First Time segment between the Fourth Time and Fifth Time is an absolute masterstroke. See it (it's on You Tube) .....and pass it on.

review

[ktkt-80912 · 6/10 · 14 July 2022]

'Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times' is a short film. Alistair and Samir meet five times. The first time they meet in the sandbox when they are young, the second time in front of an ATM, and the third time when Alistair has an interview to join Samir's company. The fourth time is when Alistair is homeless and asking for money on the street. The fifth time is when Alistair comes to help out at a care home for the elderly. When they are old enough to meet, they can put aside their prejudices and meet each other. This film,'Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times', is a little difficult to understand on first viewing. But after you see it a few times, you will understand. I think that this film is worth seeing.

life is an accumulation of encounters, actions, and choices.

[enamiyamoto · 10/10 · 9 January 2024]

"Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is a drama about two men encounter in their lives. Two men have a terrible encounter at an ATM in London. However, this is not the only time they meet; they miraculously meet five times throughout their lives. Alistair and Samir meet many times on their lives, and their actions greatly influence their future lives. The way the movie is presented is very clever and does not show his encounters sequentially. Also, their positions and situations are all very different in each scene they meet. It's also very interesting to see how Alistair's personality changes as the number of times they meet accumulates. It nicely expresses that life is an accumulation of encounters, actions, and choices. The final scene is very heartwarming, proving that their meeting turned out to be a wonderful thing. The fact that they are both smiling and spending time together at the beginning and the end is a very nice development.

difficult

[rinopechi · 6/10 · 20 July 2022]

'Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times' was made in 2017. It is a story about two strangers who meet five times at different times in their lives. The film begins with the scene where they meet for the second time. I thought the order was changed to more clearly express the gap between Alistair and Sammy's positions, which are reversed. I do not like this film. There are two reasons. First, it is a little difficult to understand. I get the gist of the story, but their social position changes each time they meet, so I could not tell which man was Alistair or Samir. They seemed similar and I could not get much of the content in my head. The second reason is that it clearly depicts that children raised by a racist mother are racist. This also felt like a kind of discrimination. This is cruel. After watching it and understanding the content, I did not feel very well. For these reasons, I did not like this film, but my friends were impressed. It is a movie that different viewers feel differently about. I felt that if I watched it again, I might discover something else.

story of two guys life

[satoshiwindow · 10/10 · 13 July 2022]

"Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is a short drama film released in 2017. The movie production is in the United Kingdom but the first release there is next year in the United States.

At the beginning of the story, a white guy, Alistair, walks through a street, and stands behind a guy who is trying to take out his cash from the cashing machine. However, the guy, Samir, takes a long time. So Alistair says racist remarks and Samir leaves there angrily. After that, when Alistair finishes his final job interview, he finds out that the guy he insulted in the street is the CEO.

To be honest, I don't like this at first, but every time I watch it, I like it more and more. The movie has unique characteristics with the movie storyline because it doesn't go on chronologically. By this technique, watchers have multiple active questions, and it makes people focus on the film, and is more emotional. I'm pretty sure that no one should miss this.

good storyline

[maone-72534 · 10/10 · 7 July 2022]

"Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is a drama short film and was released at 2017.

This story is divided into five parts. And this story is about 2 men meeting five times.

First of all, in the second part, two men meet in front of an ATM. Then, they argue because one man is a racist. Next is the third part. The racist guy from earlier gets introduced to the CEO. The CEO is the man he met in front of the ATM. And the fourth time, the racist man is now homeless. Then the CEO guy walks by and the racist man talks to him. But the CEO doesn't remember having been with him. And he gives the homeless man enough money to spend a few weeks. And in the first meeting, they are together when they were little.

Finally, they are old, and the homeless man reconnects with the CEO as a volunteer.

In my opinion, this film was an emotional story, and I like this storyline.

In addition, the main point of this film is changing the order of parts. Thereby, I think we can have questions, and it makes for moving content.

I wanna make this kind of film

[Fjkkn · 8/10 · 10 July 2021]

Two strangers who meet five times is a short film. Alistair and Samir meet five times. This film starts when they meet each other the second time. Samir is at cash point and he is taking a little time. Alistair waits for Samir to finish but he is slow. Alistair gets frustrated and uses discriminatory language to him. Samir complains about it then goes away. The next scene is when they meet each other the third time. Alistair joins a job interview and he has to meet the CEO of the company to get the job. However, the CEO is...

First of all, I think the title could be better. This is very direct so I can imagine that they meet again and again. So I don't get any surprise about this miracle. I also think about the fifth times scene. Alistair doesn't know where he visits at first but this is a little bit deliberate.

However, I learned the skill of non-linear narrative. If this film begins from the scene they meet for first time, I can also imagine the storyline. The use of non-linearity is very effective.

As an aspiring filmmaker, I want to make this kind of movie.

Touching short film

[linshuli-99547 · 8/10 · 7 December 2023]

"Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is a film about the opposite themes of racism and friendship. This film was made in 2017.

One man, Alistair and another man, Samir meet again in various years and various places. Alistair has strong stereotypes from his mother, so when he meets Samir, he looks at Samir with a discriminatory eye. However, when he finds himself in a difficult situation, Samir deals with him without discrimination. When they reunite when they are old men, how do they look at each other?

I think this film is a very deep story about friendship. In fact, the way the story unfolds is very unique, but the friendship that began to develop between them at the end of the story is very touching.

This is a great short film that includes a lot in 12 minutes, and is well worth watching.

Good Story

[daikibaseball-04275 · 6/10 · 21 July 2022]

The short film "Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is the story of two men.

Alistair and Samir meet five times. This movie starts when I meet for the second time. Samir is at an automated teller machine and is taking some time. Alistair waits for Samir to finish, but he's late. White Alistair is frustrated waiting for Samir, a Middle Eastern-looking man who is slowly trying to withdraw cash. Alistair makes a discriminatory remark to him and Samir leaves. In the next scene, Samir is the CEO, and Alistair's nasty behavior prevents Alistair from getting a job. A few years later, Samir meets Alistair, who is now homeless, and understands what happened to Alistair after the job interview. Samir doesn't seem to remember him, but he is kind to him and finally gives him money.

This story is a little different in composition. The composition of this story helps to understand how Alistair's emotions change throughout the scene. I also like the irony that Alistair will finally be kind to Samir, even if it doesn't behave well at first.

At the end, I was glad that they had a good relationship. I recommend this short film.

The skill of writer and director is good

[yasumaru-32948 · 9/10 · 12 January 2024]

The two strangers who meet five times is a very good short film. I feel that the story is simple, but I was impressed with the way the director shows the story to the audience. The story starts the second time Alistar and Samir meet. Alistar meets Samir at the cashpoint. Alistar is annoyed because Samir takes a long time, and he abuses Samir. He also says racial things like "Isis" to him. This is their second time to meet. The next scene is the third time they meet. After a while from the second meeting, Alistar goes to the job interview, but the CEO of that company is Samir. Samir remembers Alistar, so Alistar cannot get the job. The fourth time to meet is after a couple of years from the third meet. Alistar has become homeless and begs for money from the pedestrians. Alistar happens to meet Samir on the street and talks to him, but Samir does not remember him. However, he gives him money and advice to live. Then, we can see their first meeting. When both are children, they happen to meet at the sandpit and play together. Alisar's mother says things that discriminate against people of color and makes him go home. We can finally know the origin of Alistar's racism from this scene. In the last scene, on their fifth meeting, Alistar comes to Samir's home as a volunteer to look after him after he has dementia. Alistar does not remember Samir, but he realizes something and asks Samir "Do I know you?" Samir looks like he remembers Alistair.

The order of the scenes is not 1 2 3 4 5, but 2 3 4 1 5. If I saw their first meeting first, I would not think Alistar is not a good guy, as his characteristic comes from his mother, and I would not be impressed by his spiritual growth. I was impressed with the power and the skill of the director and film makers.

What comes around goes around.

[rinachoco · 7/10 · 5 January 2024]

'Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times' is a drama about two men who don't know each other, but they meet five times throughout their lives in the UK. First, we see the scene where they meet in front of the cash point for the second time. Samir, who is an ethnic minority, is having trouble operating cash points. Alistair, who is white, gets irritated because of him, so he says rude things to him. After that, they meet again in a job interview at Samir's company. Samir remembers the encounter at the cash point, but Alistair doesn't. I learned 'what goes around, comes around' from this drama. When you cause harm to a person, the person will never forget that. Besides, when you treat a person with infinite tenderness, the person will never forget that. Why do they meet five times in their lives? This question will be a key to this drama. I think they must meet five times in their lives after watching this. This is a great short and is well worth seeing.

Stranger is may not the stranger

[yukiaaa · 10/10 · 23 July 2022]

From the first scene I was hooked. Why is this short film show us the second time? What about the first time? With the story goes, the question was getting bigger. When they meet for the second time, which is first time given us to watch, they don't care for the others as strangers. They don't even know their background, and personality. This is one of the main message this film tells us, that we cannot judge others without get to know well. I just realized how people see the others underestimated in daily life. It is need to remain every one of us.

Amazing story

[oushou-10394 · 8/10 · 13 July 2022]

Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times is a short and drama film from 2017. In this film, two men appear. They meet not only one time, but the order is out of sync. The second meeting appears first. They are near an ATM. They talk a few times. Next meeting, the third meeting, is an employment interview. A man who is CEO of this company says to the candidate, "Do we know each other?". But the candidate can't remember. The fourth meeting, the candidate becomes homeless. The CEO helps him. He thanks the CEO and cries. So, what are the first and fifth meetings? Please check by yourselves. This film focuses on the connection between human and human. Even when we think we don't have a connection, we probably have a relationship. However, we can't know the relationship is only one time or not. We may have a relationship many times between the same person as this film. We have to take care of the relationship between other people. We don't know when the relationship may be useful. It is important to prepare for when the relationships are useful. The life is so long, so we don't know what is going to happen. But it is the fun point of life.

moving story

[misa-44872 · 8/10 · 20 July 2022]

"Two Strangers who Meet Five Times" was released in 2017. The pair meet five different times in life on different occasions. The occasions are not shown in order. And as time goes by, their relationship improves, even if neither remembers the other.

I like this movie. The reason is due to the order of the scenes in this movie: the second time they meet at the ATM, Alistair is prejudiced and behaves badly towards Samir, who is Asian. The third time we meet Alistair, he is not like that. As you watch the story, wondering why, the reason becomes clear. When the two meet for the last time, they are a volunteer helper and a patient. I was very moved by the scene where they gradually put aside their prejudices and meet again as simply human beings. This film is wonderful because it teaches us the importance of treating people equally without racial or gender prejudice.

I thought it showed Alistair changing his mind about how he treats others. What is important is humanity, not race. In that sense, I thought it was a good movie.

moving story

[yuuuuuchi-333 · 10/10 · 20 July 2022]

Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times is a short drama film from 2017. The storyline is that two men, Alistair and Samir, meet five times in their lifetime. Alistair sometimes remembers Samir and vice versa. They sometimes quarrel when they meet and they also sometimes help when they meet.

In my opinion, the most notable thing in this film in terms of the effect is that the order of their encounter is not screened chronologically. By doing so, I think the bond between them can be more highlighted. Furthermore, it can be proved that the bond between them has already started since they are children. Therefore, this film is made well in terms of the effect.

Moreover, while I am watching this film, I feel a sense of heart-warming because indeed they sometimes quarrel, but finally they help each other.

Then, I feel the bond around human cannot be broken easily. Therefore, this film is made well in terms of its inspiration.

For these two reasons, I am fond of this film and I recommend you to go and see this film. It is worth watching.

Interesting story

[sumomo1129 · 10/10 · 8 January 2024]

"Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is an everyday human story. The two men meet five times without even realizing it. Alistair is racist, which causes him to fall into poverty. The other man, Sammy, is treated with discrimination, but he is a wealthy man. The two men lead completely different lives. I think this story depicts how a discriminatory man changes. The scene where they first meet reveals why he is discriminatory. When they meet for the fifth time, the audience realize that he is not the same person he was before. I feel that people's values are easily influenced by those around them and change. "Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times" is really worth seeing. This film may not only move you, but may also teach you something important.