What shape does the ideal family take? Dear Stranger unfolds as a narrative of catastrophe, one that befalls a family chasing their dreams while seeking a peaceful everyday life. Kenji, a Japanese professor aspiring for a tenure track position, and Jane, a Taiwanese-American puppeteer, appear to have built a happy home in New York with their son Kai. As Jane becomes more deeply immersed in her life as a mother, she struggles to hold on to her own dreams, which seem to drift further away. One day, Kai goes missing, and the fragments of memory that remain begin to intrude upon Kenji and Jane’s lives. Dear Stranger is an extraordinary work brimming with the tension and vitality generated by the compelling performances of Nishijima Hidetoshi and Gwei Lun-Mei, seamlessly interwoven with suspense. Through the film, director Mariko Tetsuya demonstrates that life’s course continues even amid the ruins left behind by tragedy. (MOON Juhwa)