The Stranger

In 2011, a female stranger contacts single mother Amanda Kastrup, hoping to set her up with her cousin, Casper. Amanda and Casper achieve contact, and it turns out that Casper is the heir to one of Denmark’s richest families; he also has an overprotective mother, and a young daughter he rarely gets to see. Amanda soon enough begins falling for the charming and adventurous man. But might this all be just a little bit too good to be true? Who is Casper really?

The Stranger is a unique and interesting documentary hybrid. The film is based on an episode from one of Denmark’s most popular podcast collectives, called Third Ear – and as such, it is one of the first known films to be based on a podcast. The story went on to receive a lot of press coverage in its home country, and was met with massive public attention. Apart from Casper, who is played by a professional actor, all the characters in the film are played by the real life people they are based on. They wear the same clothes, and repeat their own actual conversations to the best of their abilities. Amanda Kastrup appears to be a talented actor. With her memories and reflections, and her voice narrating the story, it is difficult not to get sucked into this compelling and well-made reality thriller.