The Kindness of Strangers

“A little help goes a long way.”

Winter in New York, and Clara (Zoe Kazan) has arrived with her two sons and little else, having left her abusive husband behind. Lone Scherfig follows the family through an emergency shelter, where Alice (Andrea Riseborough) helps them, and a faded Russian restaurant called the Winter Palace, where Marc (Tahar Rahim) is trying to revive the place. The Winter Palace sits half-lit, its old dining room waiting for guests.