Stranger by the Lake

There are some thriller tropes here and there, a tiny bit of suspense, but at its core, it's mostly a chronicle, we follow, for a few day, a handful of men cruising by a lac. Some will be taken aback by the highly graphical nature of the movie, but I deeply believe that the point here isn't shock value, but simply the desire to shoot that peculiar microcosm completely untethered, and that, Giraudie (the writer- director) certainly does in spades! Idiots will talked about porn, but this clearly isn't masturbation material, it truly is masterful and heartfelt filmmaking, art in the true sense of the word, but with a lot of fellatio and hand jobs between men! It should speak to all of us, because at its core is the fear of absolute loneliness, even amongst one's kin, and the character of Henri in that respect is quite fascinating. Basically the man is a clam, his mind seems unfathomable, is he looking for a friend, is he looking for a lover? What does he truly want from the protagonist Franck? Who knows? So, to sum it up, don't take your parents to see this film, trust me, but go, you'll thank me later!

it could have different verdicts. it could impress for the obsessive image of parking space, for dialog, for light between branches, for sex scenes, for lake or dialogs. in essence, it is a movie about deep solitude. and the art of director,the great acting, the force of image are ingredients of a sort of masterpiece. sure, it can surprise or scandalize. but not this is the purpose. the heart represents the search of sense. the need of the other and the best illustration is the character of Henri. a film about escape from yourself. eroticism is only a tool. like the summer . but if you dig , you discovers the beauty of sad, cruel manifesto . a film who must see it. it is not an easy exercise but can useful. because it is a special film. in fact, a necessary analysis.

I finally saw 'Stranger by the Lake', streaming it on Netflix. The movie takes a detached look at a gay cruising area situated by an idyllic lake area in France. The film has plenty of nudity and graphic sex and some viewers denigrate the film as porn, I know porn and this is certainly not that. In fact, I found the direct and unapologetic look at the main character's desire and sexuality to be refreshing. I did have two problems with the film. First, the lack of suspense given the circumstances of the film. Second, the one dimensional characters; the hot stud who can't commit, the young twink that confuses sex and desire for love, and the older pathetic man. However, I enjoyed that the film on another level is about risk and inadvertently becomes a moral story showing the viewer that when you are unable to subsume your desire and do the right thing tragedy results.

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.

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.