Movies in Brief: 'Fräulein'

"Fräulein," a new film about sisterhood, shared heritage, and maternal instincts uniting two expatriates who have little else in common, is the cinematic equivalent of a sweet and satisfying short story. It's sincere and somewhat sentimental, but never overtly manipulative.

A synopsis of the plot really doesn't do the film justice, because the premise of director Andrea Staka's Tribeca Film Festival entry reads like the most hackneyed chick flick imaginable. Ruza (Mirjana Karanovic) is a joyless, middle-age lunch lady who left Belgrade two decades ago and now owns and operates a cafeteria in Zürich. Free-spirited Ana (Marija Skaricic) survived war-torn Sarajavo, and is now a drifter hitchhiking across Europe. Ana gets Ruza out of her dour shell, and she begins to blossom just as their friendship has. But unbeknownst to Ruza, Ana is battling leukemia under her bubbly, spontaneous façade.

Most of the time, this kind of plot development is dreadfully predictable, but "Fräulein," which opens Friday at Cinema Village, rises above the standard. Perhaps it's the English subtitles or the rich subplot involving Bosnia's past and present. The film, refreshingly, has spared the viewers the emotional waterworks. There are no hysterical confrontations, no melodramatic confessions, no teary goodbyes, and no deathbeds. It's a simple story in which a woman of a certain age rediscovers and embraces herself and her past. Steven Spielberg could learn a thing or two from Ms. Staka.

There are movies from many countries that deal with the global phenomenon of emigration. But unlike most of them, which concentrate on social discord, or over-optimistically embrace assimilation, "Fräulein" gives viewers an alternative glimpse of lost souls finding one another in a transient world. It is a minor work, but a beautiful sight to behold nonetheless.