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I enjoyed "Stranger by the Lake" very much on several different levels. It features a compelling story line with plenty of suspense heightened by excellent acting and lovely, sensitive cinematography. However, this picture isn't for the faint of heart, so homophobes and prudes will want to give it a wide berth.

The plot revolves around a series of inexplicable decisions made by Franck, a handsome, 30ish vegetable seller who regularly visits a gay beach and cruising ground. The beach is inhabited by a largely unvarying selection of men who are completely indifferent to their "neighbors" except for one highly specific service that they can, and often do, render one another in the nearby woods. The men exploit and are exploited with a ruthlessness that I found stunning, familiar and sad.

This is a ground-breaking film in at least two ways. First, it is the most explicitly and unapologetically erotic art-house movie since Oshima's "In the Realm of the Senses," except that in this case all of the on-screen sex is gay. Second, it is really not a "gay film" in the sense that it is actually a story about human callousness and depravity. In other words, the gay characters and gay sex are almost incidental to the true message being conveyed in this movie: that human beings can be truly, and quite casually, inhuman toward each other. This is in contrast to many other "gay themed" titles where the "gayness" of the story line is the most important element in the film's identity. One could easily make a straight version of "Stranger by the Lake" and it would work equally well. Nonetheless, there is most definitely a certain "je ne sais quoi" in "Stranger by the Lake" that a heterosexual picture would be quite unequipped to deliver upon.

If you like your movies strong, suspenseful, lyrical and sleazy you will want to make a point of seeing "Stranger by the Lake."

What drives people to engage in self-destructive behavior? Why do people seek out things (people, actions) that are bad for them? These seem to be the questions at the center of "Stranger by the Lake," a quiet film that casts an unsettling spell.

Franck is a young gay man who makes daily visits to an idyllic lakefront beach that serves as a popular gay cruising spot. Men scope each other out and then with a nod of the head or wink of the eye agree to wander off into the bushes to engage in all sorts of sexual activities, safe or otherwise. Franck crushes on Michel, a studly guy who proudly struts around naked, and finally succeeds in securing a tryst with him. But then one night he witnesses Michel casually drown another man. In one of the film's most effective twists, the knowledge of Michel's murderous tendencies draws Franck closer to him, and we watch him fall more and more for this guy who we know he should be turning in.

The film is one sustained note of creeping dread. From the start we just feel like things are headed to a bad place, and we stare with morbid fascination to see just what that bad place will be. All sorts of unpleasant spectres flirt at the margins of these men's lives. There's something predatory about the act of cruising in the first place, and the loneliness of Franck's life -- never explicitly shown but always implied -- makes him that much easier a victim. And then there are the unspoken phantoms of disease and addiction that color the men's behavior. For Franck, sexually transmitted diseases are a risk worth taking for the thrill of the hookup, just as an addict sets the consideration of consequences aside until after the high has worn off. Franck is compulsively drawn to the lake again and again long past the point where better sense, not to mention an instinct for self preservation, should prevail, and he willingly puts himself in greater danger as the film progresses. It's tempting to read the Michel character as a sort of personification of the allure of self abuse -- the excitement of self-imposed danger turned into an enticing and literal bogeyman.

The ending to the film is ambiguous and supremely creepy. It's a movie that's hard to get out of your head after you've seen it.

Grade: A

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.

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!

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.

I'm genuinely confused, this was basically full of pornography, how this was approved to be screened as a film is beyond me. Ejaculation on screen? 😳 as a gay man I watched this film out fascination into the cruising scene. Bleak and depressing but definitely suspenseful. A man so lost in the throes of love and attraction that he puts himself in harms way.

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 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.

Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) spends the summer frequenting an all-male nude beach where men come to sunbathe and to engage in casual sex in the woods nearby. One quiet evening, he secretly witnesses a man, Michel (Christophe Paou), whom he briefly met earlier in the day, drown another young man, perhaps his lover, in the lake. Despite this knowledge, Franck finds himself so intensely and inexplicably drawn to the killer that he establishes a relationship and quickly begins falling in love with him.

Laced with highly-charged erotic undertones, "Stranger By the Lake" is a low-keyed, multi-leveled thriller whose dark and disturbing themes simmer beneath a deceptively simple surface. The sex is certainly graphic in its depiction - no simulation going on here, folks - but it is germane to the storytelling and integral to the theme.

Written and directed by Alain Guiraudie, this psycho-sexual chiller achieves an uber-creepy tone without resorting to a single cliché associated with the overworked genre. Heck, there isn't even any music to helpfully alert us to the story's moments of greatest intensity. The movie creates suspense through the observation of character rather than through overt action or violence, with the placidity of the setting placed in stark relief against the grimness of the crime.

Except for the fact that it's in color, "Stranger By the Lake" has much of the look and feel of an early Michelangelo Antonioni film, what with its languid pacing, the artful minimalism of its shots, and the obliqueness of its storytelling and characters. In fact, what's most disturbing about the characters is their seemingly utter detachment not only from the society around them but from their own emotions and any semblance of a moral code. They seem to float freely about in a world of their own making, one in which they live only for the absorption of the moment and in which they are cut off completely from any meaningful human connection. In a way, casual sex is merely an external manifestation of the much more serious underlying condition of angst and alienation (a favorite theme of Antonioni's work, in fact) that's come to define their mode of living and, by extension, much of modern society itself. But is it really possible for an individual to remain that detached from everyone and everything, or is that just a pose designed to keep us from having to actively engage in life with all its attended complications and messiness?

Guiraudie raises the question, then leaves it up to the audience to come up with its own answer. For that is the way with "Stranger By the Lake." It disturbs us in so many different ways, while at the same time refusing to spoon-feed us or to play to our expectations as so many movies routinely do. It assumes that we are mature enough to handle both its raw sexuality and its super-dark vision of the world. And, for that alone, any true movie-lover should be immensely grateful.

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.

First let me clarify. This movie has a lot of simulated homosexual sex but only a couple of brief scenes could be consider real and are not that strong.

I am male and not gay so for me was easier to see BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (L' Vie the Adele) than confronting with a movie about male cruising but after the unanimous word of mouth about this movie I took the risk and I am happy I did.

The movie is pretty simple. One big lake, a wood and a parking lot. The pace is deliberately slow but pretty involving. In certain moments the suspense reach Hitchcock levels.

The story is quite simple too. Just the necessary twists to create a particular situation.

In a "cruising environment" near a lake Franck see his object of desire possibly commit ting a crime and basically lies to the police in order to cover it.

What really matters are the very few characters in that environment and their interactions.

In the same way BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR was better told from a woman perspective; this tale is perfectly suited for men. Both are great movies; put aside prejudices and see both.

I can't understand why Stranger by the Lake has received such praise. There is no doubt that it is a visual and aural treat but the central premise is rather flimsy. While the tension gathers pace somewhat towards the end it is little reward for what to that point labours the point about the shallow nature of the cruising scene and provides the viewer with little substance to really care about the victim, the protagonist, the murderer or the frequenters of the lake. The introduction of the inspector brings with it an alternative (or mainstream) moral entity but again the point about a fish out of water is hammered home with almost comic force and it's really rather difficult to take his pronouncements seriously. The lack of human subtlety in Stranger by the Lake is made up in part by the subtlety of nature. Go see it for its aesthetics, that's if you can ignore the insubstantial plot and characterisation.

In the blazing heat of summer days, an idyllic destination turns into a popular cruising location for gay men. Some folk seek "no strings attached" acts of sexual pleasure in the wooded foliage surrounding the glistening shores. Others yearn for solidarity. A state of reflective loneliness, unable to confront the realities they live daily. Basking in the glorious sunlight, watching the primitivism of men envelope gay culture. Franck is a regular visitor, and finds himself attracted to a seemingly handsome yet minacious older man, Michel. But, when Franck witnesses an unforgivable act committed at the hands of Michel, his level of terror increases but unable to resist the sexual and emotive attraction that resides within. He falls in love with potential danger.

Guiraudie's dramatic thriller is a subdued insight into the eroticism of gay culture, and the endangerment it can cause. The world today is plagued with applications and websites primarily organising dates, meets and cruising locales. Take 'Grindr', for example. Anonymous users can choose to meet up for chats, sexual interactions or potential relationships. Browsing through users who desire nothing more than a one-off session of intercourse with no emotive restraints included. It is, unfortunately, a quintessential facet of gay culture. Guiraudie compacts this aspect into a basic thriller by exploring the potential dangers of greeting strangers, particularly those that only thirst for physical interactions. Franck's emotive response to Michel grows rapidly, yet Michel's stubborn efforts in segregating the "lake" with reality produces a cold reply. Almost toying with the possibility of falling in love with the sexual pleasure as opposed to the individual. Incredibly palpable imagery that becomes more apt with each passing year.

However Guiraudie's perspective both celebrates and reprimands the sexual nature of Stranger by the Lake, notably by featuring "unsimulated sex". A presentation of scenes where the actors, in this case body doubles, engage in actual acts of sexual content. Whilst its explicit nature does not necessarily add any power to the narrative, and could easily have been simulated instead, it does elevate the audacious authenticity to the cruising. As hot as the humid tall grass that provides cushion for these intertwining souls.

However, for the unequivocal aesthetic that Guiraudie provides in Stranger by the Lake, its narrative content is unashamedly shallow. Much like the crystal clear water in the middle of the breezy woods, the purposeful lack of dimensionality within the characters does produce an emotional barrier around each individual. Franck for example is fairly straightforward, expressing limited confliction between his unstoppable attraction for Michel and the terror manifesting within. Henri, another regular visitor, introduced through a forced action from Franck that seemed convenient more than organic. The minimal relational connectivity between Franck and Michel, whilst harkening to the objectified bond between them, failed to produce any emotional investment for Franck in particular. Considering Deladonchamps riveting performance, this was a dire shame.

Another quarrel that faced me was with the eerie police inspector, waltzing around the beach in the most unprofessional manner available. Understandably the incognito presence was required to not stir up trouble, yet the absence of investigative formalities irked me more than intrigued me. And of course, the rushed violent conclusion diminished the majority of the staying power that Guiraudie had lovingly produced, by embracing a typical straight-forward ending that a basic thriller would exude. Unlikely and going against the smart character choices that preceded the event.

As audacious and beautiful Stranger by the Lake's imagery emanated, thanks to Mathon's cinematography, its shallow waters weren't able to fully keep afloat its unorthodox techniques. Its narrative bravery and depiction of gay culture (naturism included) should be commended, even if not fully exploited.

This film is not recommended. Love may be blind and make us do foolish things. Such is the underlying theme of Alain Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake (L'Inconnu du lac). The film's main character is Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps), a lonely gay man cruising a nude beach for sexual coupling. It is there he befriends Henri (Christophe Paou), another lonely soul who has just broken up with his wife, and Michel (Patrick d'Assumçao), a hunky object of desire who happens to also be a killer. One relationship becomes platonic, the other quite physical. In fact, before Franck begins a on-going relationship with this deranged person, he actually witnesses Michel's homicidal act and remains totally smitten by his rugged good looks and unconscionably silent about the murder, keeping that small secret to himself.  Granted, some people may have no moral conscience, but while Franck may fall into this category, his unhealthy risks were more plot driven than realistic reactions to the drama at hand. The whole scenario seemed absurd to me. While there are some well-done scenes of suspense and tension, the behavior of all the characters seems totally contrived. The director seems overtly preoccupied with the homosexual theme, embellishing more care and deliberation on the numerous sexually graphic gay scenes and full (very full) frontal nudity rather than the mystery itself. This is a gay porn film masquerading as a murder mystery. The two genres never quite mesh. Were more time spent on the mystery plot and the psychological urges of sex and obsession faced by the film's underdeveloped characters, the film could have been more involving and compelling. Added to that, the purposely ambiguous ending only makes matters worse. This film never ventured further than the Los Angeles and New York area to help qualify it for Academy Award consideration for the Best Foreign Film entry from France. (It is now available on Netflix for your viewing displeasure.) In Europe, Stranger by the Lake has already won numerous awards including Best Director at this past year's Cannes Film Festival. All of the positive critical acclaim is the strangest aspect about Stranger by the Lake, an ultimately unsatisfying erotic thriller with some hot gay sex thrown in for good measure. GRADE: C-