Stranger by the Lake Indie Movie News and Reviews: Distributed by Les Films du Losange Flick Snagged Queer Palm Award
The French have always been known to be a liberal and open society and nothing says this better than their art. A culture that is steeped in art French films have long been famous for their depth, substance and shock factor. L'incannu Du Lac known in English as Stranger by the Lake is definitely one of those movies that only a French film maker could make. Directed and written by Alain Guiraudie this movie comes at the right time when equality rights took center stage. First shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 the movie is distributed by Les Films du losange and won the Queer Palm Award.
The movie takes place on the beach of a lake and the adjacent forest. During the summer mostly male naturists and bathers com to sunbathe; in the woods behind the beach most of them have fleeting encounters. Franck goes to sunbath everyday where he meets and gets to know Henri and Michael to whom he is immediately attracted. One evening while in the woods overlooking the lake he spots Michael drowning his partner, Pascal. Instead of immediately going to the police or getting very far away from Michael, the paralyzing fear makes him even more attracted to Michael.
As the days go by he is drawn more and more to Michael, this is reciprocated and the two begin a relationship but the crippling fear causes him to never meet Michael anywhere apart from the lake. In the meantime Pascal's body is found and foul play is immediately suspected. Henri suspects Franck of Pascal's death and makes the fatal mistake of telling Michael who kills him. The climax comes when Franck hides from Michael whom he thinks will kill him but eventually decides to just come out of hiding. The movie is a typical murder story told in a gay voice and may be offensive to some viewers in that respect however it is a well shot movie and for people who enjoy foreign films it is a welcome addition to their DVD collection.
