A handful of people wind up in a Manhattan bar.  This isn’t a joke, it’s the concept behind a fresh, original film The Arrival, by Alyssa Rallo Bennett and Gary O. Bennett. The bar’s messy and empty otherwise as pairings and singles while away an afternoon. They’re all dealing with some kind of personal crisis. 

The story is about six people who cross paths over the course of an afternoon at a sparsely attended Manhattan bar, each struggling with physical and emotional boundaries. When a stranger arrives, they begin to question who they are and why they might become.

Over the course of one’s life, people enter and leave. Some may carve out lasting bonds, while others are mere acquaintances. Once in a while, there are situations where we find ourselves amongst a group of strangers. Be it some form of social occasion (here, a random Manhattan bar), sometimes a small room of people who have never met can bring a needed clarity into how we perceive the world. Alyssa Rallo Bennett’s The Arrival is just that type of film.