L'inconnu du lac aka Stranger By the Lake (2013)
Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps), thirty-something and between jobs, develops lust at first sight for Michel (Christophe Paou), a Tom Selleck lookalike who appears one day at a picturesque lake that's a popular cruising and nude sunbathing spot. Franck is disappointed when he discovers that Michel already has a partner, so he confides his problems to Henri (Patrick d'Assumçao), a plump, middle-aged loner who also frequents the beach. Though Henri is older and claims to be uninterested in sex, the two strike up a peculiar friendship. The following evening, as Franck is strolling through the woods after an unsatisfying assignation, he witnesses Michel murdering his lover. But the discovery that Michel is a killer does nothing to dampen Franck's ardor.
Writer/director Alain Guiraudie's L'inconnu du lac (English title: Stranger By the Lake) is a minimalist erotic thriller reminiscent of the films of Chabrol and Hitchcock...but with cocks. As befits a tale set in a gay male cruising ground, there is not a single female character in the film. Moreover, the physical setting is confined to the lake and its surrounding area, which, by the film's conclusion, has become more claustrophobic than one would ever expect of the great outdoors.
Although deadly erotic obsession has often been the subject of cinema, rarely has it been given the meticulous scrutiny demonstrated by Guiraudie in L'inconnu du lac. There's not a scene that's extraneous or out of place in the entire film. Guiraudie's seemingly simple script is a marvel of economy, limiting its actions to five outdoor sets, all in the vicinity of the lake, that play as crucial a role as the actors in developing the narrative.
The parking lot adjacent to the lake, first seen in the opening shot and then throughout the film to signal the passing of days, reinforces our understanding of actions that have occurred and foreshadows those that are about to take place. One character's early apprehension of giant catfish in the lake serves as premonition of the more dangerous predator who will soon appear.
For his performance as Franck, Deladonchamps was awarded "Best Promising Actor" at this year's César Awards. Paou has since completed Claire Simon's Gare du Nord (2013) and will appear with Charlotte Rampling and Udo Kier in Guy Maddin's Spiritismes set for release later this year. Though Deladonchamps and Paou are both convincing in their roles, body doubles were apparently used for the film's two explicit scenes. As the melancholy recluse Henri, character actor d'Assumçao delivers the film's best supporting (and César-nominated) performance.
Cinematographer Claire Mathon's use of natural light and wide-angle compositions actually merit, for once, the overused adjective "painterly." In place of a musical score, sound designer Nathalie Vidal and crew provide ambient noise - the lapping of the waves on the shore, the wind rustling through the leaves - that intensifies incrementally as the film takes ever darker turns. Eschewing the usual non-diegetic soundtrack cues, L'inconnu du lac employs genuine film craft to generate suspense. In fact, it is difficult to imagine the film being more effective with an orchestral soundtrack, even if Bernard Herrmann were still around to provide one.
Currently in theaters nationwide under its English title, L'inconnu du lac will more than likely find limited engagements due to its gay theme when it should be sought out by cinephiles of every stripe. Strand Releasing deserves credit for taking a chance on the most fully-conceptualized thriller, and one of the best films of any genre, of 2013.
Although deadly erotic obsession has often been the subject of cinema, rarely has it been given the meticulous scrutiny demonstrated by Guiraudie in L'inconnu du lac. There's not a scene that's extraneous or out of place in the entire film. Guiraudie's seemingly simple script is a marvel of economy, limiting its actions to five outdoor sets, all in the vicinity of the lake, that play as crucial a role as the actors in developing the narrative.
The parking lot adjacent to the lake, first seen in the opening shot and then throughout the film to signal the passing of days, reinforces our understanding of actions that have occurred and foreshadows those that are about to take place. One character's early apprehension of giant catfish in the lake serves as premonition of the more dangerous predator who will soon appear.
For his performance as Franck, Deladonchamps was awarded "Best Promising Actor" at this year's César Awards. Paou has since completed Claire Simon's Gare du Nord (2013) and will appear with Charlotte Rampling and Udo Kier in Guy Maddin's Spiritismes set for release later this year. Though Deladonchamps and Paou are both convincing in their roles, body doubles were apparently used for the film's two explicit scenes. As the melancholy recluse Henri, character actor d'Assumçao delivers the film's best supporting (and César-nominated) performance.
Cinematographer Claire Mathon's use of natural light and wide-angle compositions actually merit, for once, the overused adjective "painterly." In place of a musical score, sound designer Nathalie Vidal and crew provide ambient noise - the lapping of the waves on the shore, the wind rustling through the leaves - that intensifies incrementally as the film takes ever darker turns. Eschewing the usual non-diegetic soundtrack cues, L'inconnu du lac employs genuine film craft to generate suspense. In fact, it is difficult to imagine the film being more effective with an orchestral soundtrack, even if Bernard Herrmann were still around to provide one.
Currently in theaters nationwide under its English title, L'inconnu du lac will more than likely find limited engagements due to its gay theme when it should be sought out by cinephiles of every stripe. Strand Releasing deserves credit for taking a chance on the most fully-conceptualized thriller, and one of the best films of any genre, of 2013.