Anais Nin has observed: "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." This intimate drama, a mix of fact and fiction written by Mark Magill and directed by Jill Godmilow, focuses on the friendship between the writer Gertrude Stein (Linda Bassett) and her companion Alice B. Toklas (Linda Hunt).
During a picnic with a French poet, an encounter with an American youth, a visit to the doctor by Gertrude, a meeting with Ernest Hemingway, a proofreading session over one of Gertrude's novels, and a trip by Alice to the tobacconist, we see how friends are able to make intricate music together.
In one of the best moments of the film, Gertrude and Alice share an evening waiting for the moon to rise. The scene beautifully conveys that special feeling when two separate individuals find themselves at one with each other and the world. It could be called a mystical interlude. It's such times of sharing that make friendship so alchemical.