STRANGER BY THE LAKE

Cult-film-choice of the Cinéclub, consisting of RITCS-students, in collaboration with Offscreen. 

 

Summertime. At a lakeside cruising place, gay bachelor Franck finds himself falling for Michel, a handsome fellow brimming with dangerous energy. Despite his reservations, Franck cannot contain himself and gives himself over to Michel’s affections. 

 

Franck visits the lake every summer’s day, swimming, chatting and having anonymous seks with men. Everything goes as it goes, and his carefree days are captured in brightly lit, sunny widescreen takes, in which the camera moves as slowly as the sun itself. Everything changes when Franck is an inadvertent witness to murder. With minimalistic direction, filmmaker Guiraudie creates a vibrant tension in the audience. Beyond just a titilating erotic thriller, full of refreshingly bold sex scenes, Stranger by the Lake aka L’inconnu du lac is a layered exploration of the relationship between desire and danger.