Stranger by the Lake (2013)

Film: Stranger by the Lake (2013)
Stars: Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d'Assumcao
Director: Alain Guiraudie
Oscar History: No nominations (though the film won the Queer Palm at Cannes and picked up eight Oscar nominations)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 5/5 stars

For some reason I have not quite put my finger on, I haven't finished my long-gestating review of Blue is the Warmest Color (it's one of three films that sit on my "to review" list that just can't seem to get off of it, despite ample opportunity).  It's weird, therefore, that I write a review to this film, which in the most carnal ways, seems like a strong companion piece to the film.  Stylistically, though, it resembles something quite a bit darker-a bit of Haneke, a touch of Hitchcock, and I left the movie wanting more, wondering more, which is always a strong situation.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film, for those who haven't seen it, is about a man named Franck (Deladonchamps...quite the last name) who frequents a gay cruising beach in the middle of nowhere (but clearly somewhere in France).  The film follows him as he slowly falls for an adonis-like man named Michel (Paou) while getting to know an older, portly (the movie makes a point of it, otherwise I wouldn't mention it) man named Henri (d'Assumcao).  As the film progresses, Franck sees Michel murder one of his former lovers in the water by drowning him, and yet he still finds himself drawn further and further into his world, pushed by lust and a growing attraction to danger.

The film is brilliant in the way that it unfolds and maintains a heightened sense of claustrophobia.  The movie never leaves the area around the lake (there is never an indoor scene in the film) and frequently employs longshots and extended shots to keep the tension at a height.  The movie desperately needs you to buy into the Michel as someone to crave mentality, otherwise you'll be wondering why Franck is so drawn, and instead of making it obvious (having him overly handsome, overly charming), you instead get a cruel, distant man, but you can feel why Franck is drawn into him, knowing that Franck has become increasingly reliant on this particular world.

The relationship between Henri and Franck is also quite fascinating, and like Haneke, Guiraudie isn't willing to just hand out all of the answers at the beginning.  We are left to believe at first that Henri is an old man, confused by the attention this younger, sexier man is providing, but clearly enthralled by it.  We learn later that Henri is in love with Franck, but claims for it not to be sexual, though Franck seems to doubt this.  The film plays around with us a bit (the film is very seductive and, as mentioned above, quite carnal-this is hard NC-17 in the same vein that Blue is the Warmest Color is-there is actual sex happening onscreen), but my interpretation is that Henri, desperately in the closet for many, many years, is trying to figure out a way to land Franck, but we are left to believe that Franck doesn't view him that way.  The humorous thing is (there is a lot of dark, Coen Brothers-style humor permeating through the movie) that late in the movie, Franck has sex with a man who is of similar build and stature as Henri, and has also been worshiping him the entire movie but in a more obvious way.

(I wasn't kidding about those spoilers) The film's ending is a riddle, and I'm going to discuss it primarily because I'm hoping people will comment about it, and I'm curious as to your interpretation.  The film ends with Michel killing Henri out of jealousy and self-preservation (he is threatening to expose Michel's crime), and Henri hopes that in doing this he has saved Franck from Michel.  However, as the film closes, we are left with Franck, wandering around the darkened woods where he and Michel had made love over the past few weeks, calling out Michel's name, seemingly forgiving him once more for these crimes out of lust and neediness.  It's a nasty, twisted way to end the movie (we don't see whether or not they are reunited, though from the past in the film it seems that they would, and Franck would continue to live with a man who could kill him at any moment).

Overall, this is one of the better films that I saw all year, and my first 5-star review in a while.  What were your thoughts on this thriller?  Do you think it also bears a resemblance to Haneke?  What are your thoughts about the blurring lines regarding sex in mainstream movies?  Share in the comments!