Ju wai ren

The hotel room as a place where everybody is a stranger. A place that is yours for just a moment. A temporarily intimate space entered by a maid in order to clean it while, if possible, not leaving a single trace of her visit. Each part of the episodic Stranger is set in just such a place. One episode equals one shot. One shot equals one story. What they have in common is China, the home country of both guests and staff, although each of their lives differs from the others. The film’s absurd, darkly humorous, poignant, and mysterious stories are set in a seemingly confined space that nevertheless opens up new and surprising dimensions with each episode. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)