If Danish director Lone Scherfig has a gift, it's in turning teams of actors into an endearing ensemble whose relationships exist as sincerely onscreen as if in reality. Scherfig, as evidenced in this film as well as in her breakout Italiensk for Begyndere (Italian for Beginners) (a winner at Berlin, Warsaw and Paris film festivals, amongst many other accolades), finds misfits and lonely individuals helping each to find their voice, to find an open ear and to find the power in investing time and attention to their own community.

Scherfig's portrait of a small town grappling with its conservative façade in the midst of chaos caused by a streaker, bathes in its soft hues and soft lighting, and leads its litany of off-beat archetypes towards transparency of purpose and, in the process, liberates the townsfolk of their secrets, their reservations and their clothing.

Scherfig, like the masterful Ken Loach (whose It's a Free World... is also playing at Toronto), scripts her scenes (on this occasion with co-writer Niels Hausgaard) on location, allowing the actors to influence the direction of the dialogue and embracing the unpredictability of the unexpected. This method, seemingly suited to breeding confusion, instead delivers clarity by allowing the actors to slowly strip away their layers of pretense, and to grow familiar enough with each other that eventually their bare souls sit on display.

If you can get through all the A-list talent at the festival, and want to be surprised by a cinematic exploration that touches the heart, Just Like Home may be your life-line.