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Dear Stranger (2025)

Dear Stranger (2025), directed by Tetsuya Mariko, starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and Gwei Lun-Mei.

09/12/2025 BR Drama 2h 18m

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Synopsis

A Japanese man and his Chinese-American wife struggle with work, parenting, and caregiving in NYC. Their strained life spirals when their son is kidnapped, leading to murder. Unspoken truths and secrets surface, deepening their rift. Can they rebuild their shattered vision of a "happy family"?

  • 佐々木靖之Cinematography
  • Tetsuya MarikoDirector, Screenplay
  • Matthieu LaclauEditing
  • Julia XuProducer

About the film

Dear Stranger is a 2025 film directed by Tetsuya Mariko starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and Gwei Lun-mei. It explores themes of trust and grief in the American immigrant experience and multi-cultural marriage between a Japanese man and his Taiwanese-American wife.

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Dear Stranger is a 2025 film directed by Tetsuya Mariko starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and Gwei Lun-mei. It explores themes of trust and grief in the American immigrant experience and multi-cultural marriage between a Japanese man and his Taiwanese-American wife.

Plot

Kenji, a Japanese professor studying ruins and seeking tenure, and his wife Jane, a Taiwanese-American puppeteer, have a happy life in New York City with their son, Kai. However, as Jane becomes more absorbed in her life as a mother, she begins to lose a hold on her artistic dreams and identity. Their lives are thrown out of spin when Kai goes missing.

Production

The film is the first English production from Japan's Toei Company. It was shot entirely on location in New York City and edited in Taiwan.

Aside from Toei, the film is backed by Roji Inc. and has support from JLOX+ and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA).

Mariko was inspired to make the film upon his return to Japan from the U.S. after the COVID pandemic, pivoting from his previous focus on "absurd violence" towards an emotional drifting apart.

For Jane's puppeteer work, Mariko collaborated with Blair Thomas to choreograph puppetry that would express Jane's passion for the art form and her struggle balancing it with her family life.

Cast

Hidetoshi Nishijima as Kenji

Gwei Lun-Mei as Jane

Fiona Fu as Shu-An Yao

Julian Wang as Donny

Release

The film premiered on September 12, 2025 in Japan and screened at the 30th Busan International Film Festival on September 18.

The film was screened as a special screening film in the Nippon Cinema Now Section of the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival on November 4, 2025. It will be presented in 'Country Focus: Japan - 2025' section of the 56th International Film Festival of India in November 2025.

References

External links

Dear Stranger at IMDb

Text from Dear Stranger on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Stranger

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What is Dear Stranger about?

Dear Stranger: A Japanese man and his Chinese-American wife struggle with work, parenting, and caregiving in NYC. Their strained life spirals when their son is kidnapped, leading to murder. Unspoken truths and secrets surface, deepening their rift. Can they rebuild their shattered vision of a "happy family"?

Who directed Dear Stranger?

Dear Stranger was directed by Tetsuya Mariko in 2025.

Who stars in Dear Stranger?

The cast of Dear Stranger includes Hidetoshi Nishijima, Gwei Lun-Mei, Julian Wang, Christopher Mann and Everest Talde.

How long is Dear Stranger?

Dear Stranger runs for 138 minutes, or 2h18.

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Page updated on 09/09/2026.

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Scene from Dear Stranger