A stunning minimalist erotic thriller that explores with arresting photography and economical use of dialogue how human identity is defined, and sometimes imprisoned, by our desires, drives, and passions.
Stranger by the Lake
2013 · 1h 40m · Not Rated
Drama, Thriller
Directed by
Alain Guiraudie
Overview
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.
Director and cast
- Alain Guiraudie Director
- Pierre Deladonchamps as Franck (as Pierre Deladonchamps)
- Christophe Paou as Michel
- Patrick d'Assumçao as Henri
- Jérôme Chappatte as Inspecteur Damroder
- Gilbert Traïna as L'homme du mardi soir
- Mathieu Vervisch as Éric
- Emmanuel Daumas as Philippe
- Sébastien Badachaoui Cast
- Gilles Guérin Cast
- François-Renaud Labarthe Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Carefully and often brilliantly creates its own Eden-like universe.
There's too much metaphysical packaging material in the story; it's half Styrofoam peanuts. But its ideas are intriguing and its murky suspense is undeniable.
What sets the engrossing "Stranger by the Lake" apart is that its excesses seem to point to a moral purpose beyond shock or entertainment value.
A simple and ruthlessly effective exercise in minimal narrative and style, Alain Guiraudie's moral tale is so restrained and atmospheric that the nudity and graphic sex don't upstage the creepy mood of seductive, inescapable doom.
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