Intimate Stranger

A very personal documentary portraying the life of Joseph Cassuto, the film-maker's grandfather. Berliner grew up in Brooklyn and as a boy he helped his grandfather to write his autobiography. Cassuto was a Jew who grew up in Egypt and worked for a long time in Japan. Twenty years after his grandfather's death, Berliner again took an interest in the papers which Cassuto had left. Berliner assimilated this story into his film in a very inventive and creative way. It is the story of one man, but through the active life he led and through the intriguing surroundings, the film rises above personal memory. Nevertheless Berliner's personal involvement with his subject is clearly perceptible. The more he finds out about his grandfather, the more he has to ask. The puzzle only seems to get more complex.Through this specific story, Berliner leads his audience indirectly, but securely, towards a general reflection on the American Dream.