Keyword Reclusiveness

This short looks at the illness anthropophobia, the fear of people. In 1901, young Catherine Starr, who lives in a small English coastal town, has an argument with her fiancé. He leaves her house, goes off to serve in the Boer War, and dies of malaria. Catherine blames herself for his death and fears others will also blame her. She does not leave her house for forty years. Groceries are delivered to the house, but no one sees who retrieves them. When the Nazis bomb her house in September 1941, she is forced to cope with the outside world.

Paul, a shy photographer of 30 years, avoids relationships in favor of the safety landscape photography. He is drawn into intimacy by a teenage youth who moves in next door and insinuates herself into his life.

Della Chappell is a very wealthy and incredibly reclusive woman. When a big company wants to develop some land that Della owns, the town sends out Barney Stafford to talk to her. She invites Barney over to negotiate the proposal. Barney soon takes a liking to Della's equally reclusive daughter Jenny Chappell. After spending some time with Jenny, he realizes that Della has a dark secret, one that keeps them from the outside world.

An old widower, Jasper, routinely makes coffee in two mugs and picks up trash around his community. Some of his more interesting finds speckle his home. His neighbors mostly disregard him. On one of his regular hunts, he chances upon an envelope. To his surprise, he finds old wedding photos and presumes the addressee, Angie, to be the bride. Determined to complete the delivery, Jasper follows a map to the address. When he finally arrives, his excitement is upended when Angie, now divorced, rebuffs him and the photos. He leaves her with an open invitation to his home, should she change her mind. The next morning, Jasper starts his routine-only to find Angie at his door. After a heart-to-heart on loss and new life, Jasper invites Angie to pick up trash with him. Together, they go.

After being for eleven years in the city, José António Baptista returned to his home village to focus on literature.