Our take
Rarely do we get to see the human body in its natural state in public, mostly limited to nude beaches, but it’s understandably so– beyond the usual social norms, there’s a vulnerability in doing so, a vulnerability that is sometimes taken advantage of. Stranger by the Lake captures the beauty of that vulnerability, with stunning shots that elevate the explicit scenes from being pornographic, but crucially, the film also captures its dangers, namely the increasingly self-destructive risks Franck takes that leads him to a dangerous man. The line between lust and aggression blurs in this film, and understandably, some may take this film to be sex-negative, but Stranger by the Lake is an intriguing slow burn towards its inevitable conclusion.
What it won
Cannes
2 wins
Sundance
1 nom
César Awards
1 win · 7 noms
The story
Frank spends his summer days hopelessly searching for companionship at a popular cruising spot on the shores of a lake in rural France. One day, he meets Michel, an attractive yet darkly mysterious man and falls blindly in love.
Elsewhere
"The film is a Hitchcockian murder story in which the Hitchcockian elements-style as well as content-are stood on their heads in order to realize a philosophical vision that's no less sophisticated than Hitchcock's own."
— Richard Brody
"Alain Guiraudie - remember that name."
— David Jenkins
Franck is a regular visitor at a lakeside gay cruising beach, but he hasn’t made a lasting connection yet, except for a friendship he shares with depressed middle aged bisexual Henri. However, in one fateful summer, Franck spots a handsome man drowning his lover, leading him to a passionate, yet dangerous affair.
Remember the grass scene in Call Me By Your Name? Remove more clothes, and make things unsimulated, and that’s plenty of the sex scenes in Stranger by the Lake.
If you go to a nude beach, expect nude people. If you watch a film set on a nude beach… Viewer’s discretion is advised.
The details
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
