Two Distant Strangers
{{Short description|2020 short film}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Two Distant Strangers
| image = Two Distant Strangers.jpg
| caption = Official release poster
| director = {{Plainlist|
}}
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Van Lathan
- Lawrence Bender
- Jesse Williams
- Chris Uettwiller
- Sean Combs
- Mickey Meyer
- Terrence J
}}
| screenplay = Travon Free
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| music = James Poyser
| cinematography = Jessica Young
| editing = Alex Odesmith
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
- Dirty Robber
- NowThis
- Six Feet Over
}}
| distributor = Netflix
| released = {{Film date|2020|11|20}}
| runtime = 32 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $443,050 (all short films){{Cite Box Office Mojo |id=14322204 |title= 2021 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action |access-date=July 11, 2021 |archive-url= |archive-date= }}
}}
Two Distant Strangers is a 2020 American short film written by Travon Free and directed by Free and Martin Desmond Roe.{{Cite web|last=Dry|first=Jude|date=March 8, 2021|title='Two Distant Strangers' Makes Sure Oscar Voters Don't Forget George Floyd|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2021/03/two-distant-strangers-joey-badass-travon-free-1234621942/|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=IndieWire|language=en}}{{cite web|last=Menta |first=Anna |date=April 9, 2021 |url=https://decider.com/2021/04/09/two-distant-strangers-netflix-short-film-oscar/ |title='Two Distant Strangers' on Netflix Is a Time Loop Story With a Powerful Twist |website=Decider}} The film examines the deaths of Black Americans during encounters with police through the eyes of a character trapped in a time loop that keeps ending in his death.{{Cite news|last=Feinberg|first=Scott| date=February 5, 2021|title='Awards Chatter' Podcast — Sean Combs ('Two Distant Strangers')|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-chatter-podcast-sean-combs-two-distant-strangers|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en}}{{cite news|last=Norris |first=Michele L. |date=April 13, 2021 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/were-stuck-in-a-loop-of-death-until-we-address-policing-this-netflix-short-showcases-that/2021/04/13/6f63167c-9c7f-11eb-8005-bffc3a39f6d3_story.html |title=Opinion: We're stuck in a loop of death until we address policing. This Netflix short showcases that |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Two Distant Strangers won the award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, marking distributor Netflix's first win in the category.{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021 |title=The 93rd Academy Awards (2021) |website=Oscars.org}}
Plot
In New York City, graphic designer Carter James tries to get home to his dog, Jeter, the morning after a first date, only to find himself trapped in a time loop in which he is repeatedly confronted in the street by a NYPD officer, Merk. Merk wonders whether Carter is smoking a joint and wants to search his bag. Each encounter ends with Carter being killed by the police, then waking up in the bed of his date, Perri.{{efn|Carter's first death resembles the killing of Eric Garner in 2014 and the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Travon Free wrote the script in July 2020.{{cite news|last=Pener |first=Degen |date=January 19, 2021 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/behind-the-scenes-of-new-short-film-two-distant-strangers-about-police-killings-in-america |title=Behind the Scenes of New Short Film, 'Two Distant Strangers,' About Police Killings in America"]. |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}}} In one version of the loop, riot police burst into Perri's apartment, mistaking it for a different apartment because the door number is hanging upside down, and shoot him there.{{efn|Alluding to the 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor}}
After 99 deaths, Carter decides to discuss the situation with Officer Merk. Carter tells him about the time loop, offering Merk evidence by correctly predicting what people around them will do next. Carter asks Merk to drive him home. The journey ends without mishap; Merk and Carter get out of the patrol car and shake hands. But as Carter turns to enter his apartment building, Merk starts applauding what he calls Carter's "noble performance", revealing that Merk remembers the previous loops too. Merk then shoots him in the back, while a pool of blood starts forming in the shape of Africa, and says "See you tomorrow, kid". Carter wakes up once more in Perri's bed.
Undeterred, Carter leaves Perri's apartment to make yet another effort to get home. As the song "The Way It Is" plays, names of Black Americans who have died in encounters with police are listed.
Cast
- Joey Badass as Carter James
- Andrew Howard as Merk, an NYPD officer
- Zaria Simone as Perri, Carter's date
Release
In March 2021, Netflix acquired the distribution rights and made the film available from April 9.{{cite web|last=Rodriguez |first=Karla |date=April 9, 2021 |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/travon-free-two-distant-strangers-netflix-short-film-interview |title=Director Travon Free's Oscar-Nominated 'Two Distant Strangers' Reflects the Time We Live In |website=Complex}}
Controversy
In April 2021, Cynthia Kao posted a video on the social media site TikTok alleging that this film plagiarized a short film she had directed in December 2016 titled Groundhog Day For a Black Man.{{cn|date=June 2025}} The contents of Kao's film were similar to the plot of Two Distant Strangers, which are both about a black man trying to relive the same day over and over until he can survive a police altercation. Furthermore, in 2020, during the George Floyd protests, social media news outlet NowThis contacted Kao about featuring the film on their Facebook and Instagram pages. The following year, Netflix released Two Distant Strangers in collaboration with NowThis.{{cite web|first=Tanvi |last=Akhauri |date=May 1, 2021 |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/viral-video/oscars-two-distant-strangers-cynthia-kao-tiktok-groundhog-day-for-a-black-man/ |website=SheThePeople |title=Woman's TikTok About Oscar-Winning Short's Close Resemblance To Her Film Goes Viral}} NowThis responded to the claims, citing the fact that the film was independently conceived and in final production before they became involved, disputing any connection to Kao.{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Kasey |date=May 2021 |title='Two Distant Strangers' Plagiarism Claims Explained |url=https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/two-distant-strangers-plagiarism-claims-explained/ |access-date=1 May 2021 |website=What's On Netflix}}
Reception
=Critical response=
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|94|7.20|16}}{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|id=two_distant_strangers|type=movie|access-date=June 16, 2024}}
=Accolades=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ |
| scope="col" style="width:20%;"| Award
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Date of ceremony ! scope="col" style="width:25%;"| Category ! scope="col" style="width:35%;"| Recipient(s) ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| Result ! scope="col" style="width:10%;" class="unsortable" |{{Abbr|Ref.|References}} |
|---|
| scope="row" | Academy Awards
|Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwFIULE46SU |title="Two Distant Strangers" Wins Best Live Action Short Film 93rd Oscars |website=Academy Awards |via=YouTube}} |{{won}} |
| scope="row" | African-American Film Critics Association
|April 7, 2021 |Best Short Film |Two Distant Strangers |{{won}} |
See also
- List of films featuring time loops
- Black Lives Matter
- See You Yesterday (2019), Netflix film with a similar concept
- Day Break (2006), television series about a black cop who is being framed for a murder and is caught in a time loop while trying to solve the case.
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Woke, television series similar in content
- 12:01 PM (1990), Oscar-nominated short similar in content
- "Changes," 1992 song by Tupac Shakur that samples Bruce Hornsby & the Range's "The Way It Is" and lends this film its title{{efn|v. 1, ln. 16: "Learn to see me as your brother 'stead of two distant strangers"}}
References
Footnotes
{{notelist}}
Citations
{{Reflist|26em}}
External links
- {{Netflix title}}
- {{IMDb title}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPgf-JaWNh8 Official trailer]
- {{Cite web|title=Joey Bada$$ shakes 'up old trauma' in short film|url=https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2021/03/10/joey-bada-shakes-up-old-trauma-short-film/6945069002/|date=March 10, 2021|website=USA Today|agency=Associated Press |language=en-US}}
- {{Cite web|title=Two Distant Strangers Short Film Review|url=https://www.ukfilmreview.co.uk/post/two-distant-strangers-short-film-review|date=April 15, 2021|website=UK Film Review |language=en-UK}}
{{Academy Award Best Short}}
{{Black Lives Matter}}
Category:2020 science fiction films
Category:American science fiction drama films
Category:Films about racism in the United States
Category:English-language science fiction drama films
Category:Netflix original films
Category:Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:Black Lives Matter art
Category:English-language drama short films
Category:2020s films about time travel
Category:Films involved in plagiarism controversies
Category:2020s controversies in the United States