Stranger by the Lake

Alain Guiraudie's remarkable, if also sexually-explicit, Stranger by the Lake is one of the oddest film noir thrillers ever made. Set entirely in a most unlikely place for psychological terror—a nude beach for gay men, bordered by woods where anonymous sex (quite hardcore) is rampant and as elemental as the surrounding shoreline, water, trees, sun, and moon—the film can be described as an updated tale of Eden before, during, and after the Fall. Naïve Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps), a newcomer to the beach, meets handsome Michel (Christophe Paou) and soon falls in love. Only there's a problem: Franck secretly witnessed Michel drown another suitor in the water and has chosen to keep that knowledge a secret—even from Michel. But when a body turns up and a raptor-like investigator begins prowling the beach and asking tough questions, loyalties begin to slowly crumble. Visually primitive (in the most interesting sense), this is a fable-like story with a striking air of danger. Although the graphic sex will rule this out for many, it is highly recommended for more adventurous collections. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include an interview with director Alain Guiraudie (17 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are two short films by Guiraudie—1990's “Heroes Never Die” (14 min.) and 1994's “Straight Ahead Until Morning” (10 min.)—an alternate ending (10 min.), and deleted scenes (4 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for this controversial suspense film.] (T. Keogh)