''Stranger by the Lake'' (french: L'Inconnu du lac) is a 2013 French
erotic thriller
The erotic thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or erotic fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain in ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
film written and directed by
Alain Guiraudie
Alain Guiraudie (; born 15 July 1964) is a French film director and screenwriter. He has directed ten mostly LGBT-related films since 1990. He is openly gay.
Work
Guiraudie has named Georges Bataille as an important influence. His 2013 film '' ...
. The film premiered in the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
section at the
2013 Cannes Film Festival
The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and ...
where Guiraudie won the award for Best Director.
The film also won the
Queer Palm award,
and was mentioned on multiple top-ten lists of the best films of 2014.
Plot
Franck is a regular visitor to a
nude beach
A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to u ...
and the woods surrounding it, both of which are a popular
cruising destination for gay men. He befriends Henri, an older man who seeks solitude at the beach after breaking up with his girlfriend, and Michel, a handsome man to whom Franck is instantly attracted.
One evening, Franck observes Michel drowning another man in the lake. Though terrified by what he has seen, Franck is unable to resist his attraction to Michel, and continues to pursue him. When the body of the drowned man is discovered and identified, a police investigator begins to question the men at the beach; Franck tells the investigator that he did not see anything unusual on the evening the man drowned. Franck and Michel's relationship progresses, though Franck becomes increasingly frustrated by Michel's refusal to meet him anywhere other than at the beach.
Henri, who has correctly intuited the events that have occurred over the past several days, warns Franck about Michel. When Franck goes swimming, Henri confronts Michel, and tells him that he knows he is the murderer. Henri leaves to take a walk in the woods, casting a glance back at Michel as he departs. When Franck returns, he discovers that the beach is suddenly deserted. He enters the woods, where he sees Michel walking away from a patch of tall grass. Upon entering the grass, he finds Henri, whose throat has been slit. Henri tells him that he got what he wanted. Franck, now being pursued by Michel, runs into the woods to hide. He sees Michel run into the inspector, whom he stabs in the stomach with a knife.
Night falls, and Franck remains in hiding. Michel calls out to Franck, saying that he needs his love and wants to spend the night with him. Franck does not respond, and Michel walks away to search for him deeper in the woods. After a time, Franck stands up from his hiding place, and calls out Michel's name repeatedly.
Cast
*
Pierre Deladonchamps as Franck
* Christophe Paou as Michel
*
Patrick d'Assumçao
Patrick d'Assumçao (born 1 June 1959) is a French actor.
Theatre
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:d'Assumcao, Patrick
1959 births
21st-century French male actors
French male film actors
French male stage actor ...
as Henri
* Jérôme Chappatte as Inspector Damroder
Production
center, 500px, View of the ">Lake of Sainte-Croix
The film contained
unsimulated sex, which was filmed using
body double
In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stun ...
s. Guiraudie and the actors came to the decision that they would be uncomfortable filming the scenes themselves. The film was shot at the
Lake of Sainte-Croix
The Lake of Sainte-Croix (french: lac de Sainte-Croix) is a man-made lake
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural ...
in
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...
, in September 2012.
Release
The film was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the
2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
Reception
''Stranger by the Lake'' received widespread critical acclaim. The review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
gives the film a 94% rating, based on reviews from 93 critics, with an average score of 7.75/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Sexy, smart, and darkly humorous, ''Stranger by the Lake'' offers rewarding viewing for adult filmgoers in search of thought-provoking drama."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
gives a score of 82 based on 26 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Reviewing on
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
's website, Michał Oleszczyk awards the film four out of four stars, praising Guiraudie's directing and the acting of the cast. He writes: "''Stranger by the Lake'' is the sexiest and most elegant thriller in years..."
''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' film critic Melissa Anderson calls the film "Guiraudie's most sexually explicit and narratively taut work," adding that "the writer-director's attention to the anarchic pull of lust, simultaneously celebrated and reproved here, is sharper than ever."
In January 2014, the film was nominated for eight
César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol
* ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt
* César Award, a French film award
Places
* Cesar, Portugal
* Ces ...
s at the
39th César Awards,
with
Pierre Deladonchamps winning the award for
Most Promising Actor.
Top ten lists
The film was chosen as the best film of 2013 by French film magazine ''
Cahiers du cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab ...
''.
It also appeared on several American film critics' 2014 top ten lists.
* 1st – Michał Oleszczyk, RogerEbert.com
* 2nd – ''Reverse Shot''
* 2nd – ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...
''
* 3rd – Alan Zilberman, RogerEbert.com
* 4th – Eugene Hernandez,
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a film society based in New York City, United States. Fou ...
* 4th – Nicholas Bell, ''IONCINEMA.com''
* 5th – Matt Mueller
* 6th –
Zachary Wigon, ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
''
* 7th – Aaron Hillis, ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
''
* 8th –
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, ''
The A.V. Club''
* 9th – ''
Little White Lies''
* 10th – Jay Kuehner, ''
Fandor
Fandor is a film streaming service, dedicated to independent films, documentaries, international titles, and classics, and is a division of the American entertainment company, Cinedigm. Relaunched in 2021, Fandor offers thousands of films, rangi ...
* 10th –
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris (born 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for '' The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with Jenna Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast ''Still Processing.'' Previously, Mor ...
, ''
Grantland''
See also
*
List of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films of 2013
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Alain Guiraudie's 'Stranger by the Lake' Chris Palazzolo on Stranger by the Lake, ''Rochford Street Review'' (Issue 16 2015).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger By The Lake
2013 films
2013 LGBT-related films
2013 thriller drama films
2010s erotic drama films
2010s erotic thriller films
2010s French-language films
Arte France Cinéma films
Films directed by Alain Guiraudie
Films set on beaches
Films set on lakes
Films shot in France
French erotic drama films
French erotic thriller films
French LGBT-related films
French thriller drama films
Gay-related films
LGBT-related thriller drama films
Queer Palm winners
2010s French films