In a picturesque lakeside spot in southern France, men sunbathe and hunt for anonymous sexual encounters in the nearby forest. Handsome young romantic Franck finds himself striking up a friendship with lonely divorcé Henri and falling for the dangerously lethal Michel.
Alain Guiraudie’s idiosyncratic, steamy mix of the comic and the tragic in this existential thriller was one of the most sexually explicit surprises in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, and almost universally applauded. Part beguiling love story, part noir murder mystery, Stranger by the Lake depicts an idyllic mini-universe where murderer and silent witness have to abide by a set of peculiar codes and rituals. A provocative and accomplished effort by one of France’s most overlooked auteurs.
MIFF Official Selection 2013. Winner of the Cannes 2013 Un Certain Regard Directing Prize.