Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other

Maggie and Joel have been together for almost 30 years. But their life stories could hardly be more different. She struggles with trauma, a past abuse and the feeling of not having struck. He still has a successful career and recognition as a world-renowned photographer. From the outside, they look like a couple who have found a common path through life, but beneath the surface, the differences between them become increasingly clear.

When Maggie is seriously injured with her leg, she suddenly becomes dependent on Joel, and this puts their relationship and the balance of power between them to the test. Who got the most space? Who has sacrificed? And what happens to a relationship when one bears wounds and experiences that the other has never experienced?

“Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other” is a heartlessly honest and sometimes humorous portrait of a couple trying to navigate love, difference, and the power differences that can arise between two people who love each other.

At the same time, the film is a visually strong and form-conscious documentary, with the directors using photographic compositions to mirror the relationship between Maggie and Joel.

The film moves between the intimate and the humorous and dares to dwell on the big issues of old age, illness, love and life without the other. The result is, as Ekko writes, a “wonderfully beautiful film about life.”

Directed by: Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet
Country/year: United Kingdom, Denmark, United States, 2024
Running time: 100 min.
Formato: DCP
Language: English subtitles
Age limit: Allowed for children over 11

Part of the series: Don't Fear the Weird 2026
Cinematek is again this year at the centre of the Don't Fear the Weird festival, where films, conversations and community come together. Throughout the festival days, we invite the audience inside for a series of film experiences that explore psychological vulnerability, community, identity and being human in different ways.