Der Fremde am See

Alain Guiraudie's film is highly disturbing, not so much for its frank portrayal of sexuality or in the violence of its ending, but rather in its representation of human imprisonment. The title is deliberately ambiguous: at the beginning of the film we think that straight man Henri (Patrick d'Assumçao) is the stranger by the lake, as he comes every to sit on his own, looking out across the lake without participating in any of the couplings that preoccupy all the other visitors. Although striking up a friendship with Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps), he always seems a lonely, alienated figure. As the action unfolds, however, we come to understand that every single man who comes to bathe by the lake is a stranger; their lives are strangely disconnected, dominated by cruising and casual affairs. Any attempt to develop a love-affair any further is rejected, especially by Franck's lover Michel (Christophe Paou). Structurally speaking, THE STRANGER ON THE LAKE comprises a series of repetitive shots of automobiles parked close to the lake, interspersed with shots of the lake itself and the bathers undertaking their daily rituals. The situation seems positively idyllic, but in this film it is represented as a form of imprisonment. No one, it seems, can give vent to their feelings; they can only participate in the accepted rituals. Hence Henri represents something of a subversive force - even though he doesn't actually do anything. Love in this film has been reduced to a series of casual affairs between strangers. The dialog is spare, almost inconsequential; the shooting-style slow, comprised of long takes; both of these cinematic strategies help to reinforce the confining nature of this world: no one says anything of any consequence (to do so would be dangerous), and no one ever does anything different. Repetition equals security; unexpected movement - as symbolized through fast cutting - is a threat to the order of this world. STRANGER BY THE LAKE is a powerful film, beautifully shot and performed.

A very explicit French gay-themed film. Sometimes it felt a bit overly so - including graphic unsimulated scenes of oral sex and even a shot of a man, erm, climaxing. But I kind of admire the movie at the same time for not shying away from showing anything. The characters are intriguing and the film is beautifully photographed in long, uninterrupted takes and panning shots of the lake setting. The setting itself is one of the best things about the movie. Everything takes place either on the lake or shore surrounding it, in the forest behind the lake, or a car park. You become so accustomed to these settings that everything else outside them seems meaningless - for instance we never see what the main character does for a living, or the supposed 'happy hour' drinks many of the cruising characters in this film attend after a day on the lake. None of that would've been necessary because the film is all about the character's interactions with one another on the beach, anything else would've felt out-of-place. It's a brilliant choice on the part of the director and has an interesting, hard-to-describe effect on the viewer. The film also has a healthy dose of humor (the police inspector is hilarious) and several very intense scenes, especially towards the ending. Recommended, but not for the squeamish or conservative!

This film tells what goes on among the men cruising by a beautiful lake in the summer, somewhere in France.

"Stranger by the Lake" is a single location film, with all scenes happening in or by the lake. The story focuses on a handsome young man who gets attracted to a dangerous man, putting his life at risk. Then, relationships between them, and a solitary man who sits by the lake gets complicated. Though the pacing is pretty slow in the beginning, the paces accelerates at lightning speed towards the end, delivering much thrills that makes people hold their breath. The ending is left open, but scenes just before the film ends are shocking and almost aggravating, evoking much gasps of horror and shouts of exasperation in the cinema.

Together with the highly explicit scenes, "Stranger by the Lake" is quite an thrilling eye opener that tells the truth in a cruising ground, and how love is completely blind.

Not much to add to the other comments made here, but I'll say that this film was pretty fantastic! It offers a keen inside view of the gay community living and cruising around the lake of the title. All the characters are dead on: the cute guy, the old queens, the pervert etc. with no judgment whatsoever. The pacing can seem long to some, but I quite enjoyed the repetitive installation shots. It mirrored the compulsive visits to the lake the hero makes, in hopes of finding love, even if he himself knows it's a futile quest.

"L'inconnu du lac" screened at the FNC (Festival du Nouveau Cinema) a few weeks ago, where I saw "Interior. Leather Bar." (the James Franco and Travis Mathews doc). I couldn't help but see a connection with some of the stuff Franco discussed. Our objections to porn and graphic sex are mostly constructed by society rather than rooted in any inherently moral reasons. The sex scenes in "L'inconnu du lac" are very graphic but never gratuitous. They expose the mal de vivre of the gay men who visit this beautiful lake better than words could.

I found 'Stranger by the Lake' an odd mix. On the one hand, I loved the stillness it captured. Yet another beautiful film in the NZ film festival, some of the shots of the idyllic beach setting were breathtaking. There were times when the camera lost our protagonist, and simply explored the setting. At times this meant capturing the voyeuristic nature of the cruising context, but other times it simply panned off to take in the beauty of he surroundings.

But on the other hand, it was the strange overlay of the thriller narrative with a investigator character who must have played some symbolic role. I couldn't understand how he worked in the world of the film. He roamed like someone who didn't belong in Guiraudie's realm and was more than just a stark contrast to the other characters, he was a sore thumb. The thriller element worked on the erotic level, but not on the police procedural.

It was the attraction and intrigue generated from the intense gazes across the beach that made the dynamic so fascinating. The layers of attraction were peeled away, and I found myself feeling sorry for Franck as he searched for a connection in such a wrong wrong place. The centrals couple's second swimming scene was a worthy centrepiece: the tension in preparing for death, attempting futilely to form a bond that is mistaken for love. A sad, and entrancing tale.