BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Hans_Versluys A film that should make people, who think there is such a thing as the 'gay community', think again. Stranger by the Lake is more a docudrama than a fiction film, for its setting, feel, action, and atmosphere is ultra-realistic. One hundred per cent filmed outdoors, with a cast which needed no wardrobe, it had the air of a nature documentary in which David Attenborough stumbles across a pair of gay men getting it on in the bushes, but instead of suavely narrating off-screen, being firmly told by the subjects of his voyeurism to go masturbate elsewhere, like the on-looker was. The story line is thrillingly Hitchcockian, complete with a shocking murder scene filmed in one take and from a far distance, but without a happy ending or release. But the real story is one of complete callousness and solipsism of all men involved, who have no regard or respect for the murder victim and blithely carry on as nothing had happened. As the main character said: "Life goes on." Eros and thanatos, sex and death, are closely linked in this film, and not just from the amount of unsafe sex that went on. Having a psychopathic killer who thinks nothing of getting rid of a clinging 'boyfriend' by casually drowning him is one thing, but one that thinks he can get away with multiple murders without any consequences due to the inability and unwillingness of the 'community' present at the lakeside to intervene or co-operate to solve the crimes, is an indictment. No names are known or mentioned until halfway through the movie, a familiar occurrence when you frequent gay cruising places or venues. I always thought how easy it would be for a murder to be committed at such sites without anyone, even witnesses, knowing anyone's name or business. The policeman in the film, incidentally the only person fully clothed, had the unenviable task of piecing it all together, and, even more importantly, he is also the Greek chorus commenting on the aspects of cruising culture that many gay men willfully ignore. Being held a mirror to your own culture can be shockingly revealing.

Quadruplex The good news first: If you are into men - Pierre Deladonchamps and Christophe Paou are quite sexy and bare it all - full frontal nudity throughout the flick.Unfortunately, two beefy guys are a lame excuse for the lack of a decent story line. Let's see: We have Franck, who obviously carries his brain in his dick. So he does what any homosexual would do after he witnesses the guy he has the hots for killing his lover: He digs him up and screws with him. Makes sense, doesn't it?We have the killer, Michel, who not only kills his boyfriend but in the course of the film also a Police agent. Now isn't he clever? The agent may have been stupid enough to return to the crime scene alone – but it's more than likely that he has a list of suspects in his office so when he gets killed, his colleagues will start to check whom he interviewed last.Than we have Franck's platonic relationship with Henri – he really seems to care about him. But this subplot leaves the impression that the writer just wanted to show that the character Franck is not entirely driven by his penis – and fill up time. Because in the end Franck's relation with Henri does not stop him from bonking a murderer. What sense does it make to show Franck's compassionate side if it's in the end still his wiener that rules?As so often with french films, there's no real end. We don't learn whether Michel get's caught, and if not, whether Franck finally wises up and terminates his dangerous liaison with Henri.Not very much for 100 minutes – which, by the way, appear much longer while sitting through this bore.And as for the full frontal nudity: If that's what you lust for, rent a porn.

brchthethird While the content might be off-putting to some, STRANGER BY THE LAKE is a somewhat effective thriller that toys with its audience by taking things slow. However, in my opinion, things were a little TOO slow at times. The main drive to the plot doesn't really happen until about halfway through and the narrative doesn't move forward any until about two-thirds of the way in. Up until that point, it's mostly just a lot of dialogue-driven character development.. There was also no score, which I thought might have helped. Still, I enjoyed the naturalistic photography. Overall, I found it slightly boring until the plot really kicked in, but the film is not without its merits. Recommended for non-prudes who enjoy French cinema. I don't really see this film having that wide of an audience, though.

jadepietro This film is not recommended. Love may be blind and make us do foolish things. Such is the underlying theme of Alain Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake (L'Inconnu du lac). The film's main character is Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps), a lonely gay man cruising a nude beach for sexual coupling. It is there he befriends Henri (Christophe Paou), another lonely soul who has just broken up with his wife, and Michel (Patrick d'Assumçao), a hunky object of desire who happens to also be a killer. One relationship becomes platonic, the other quite physical. In fact, before Franck begins a on-going relationship with this deranged person, he actually witnesses Michel's homicidal act and remains totally smitten by his rugged good looks and unconscionably silent about the murder, keeping that small secret to himself.  Granted, some people may have no moral conscience, but while Franck may fall into this category, his unhealthy risks were more plot driven than realistic reactions to the drama at hand. The whole scenario seemed absurd to me. While there are some well-done scenes of suspense and tension, the behavior of all the characters seems totally contrived. The director seems overtly preoccupied with the homosexual theme, embellishing more care and deliberation on the numerous sexually graphic gay scenes and full (very full) frontal nudity rather than the mystery itself. This is a gay porn film masquerading as a murder mystery. The two genres never quite mesh. Were more time spent on the mystery plot and the psychological urges of sex and obsession faced by the film's underdeveloped characters, the film could have been more involving and compelling. Added to that, the purposely ambiguous ending only makes matters worse. This film never ventured further than the Los Angeles and New York area to help qualify it for Academy Award consideration for the Best Foreign Film entry from France. (It is now available on Netflix for your viewing displeasure.) In Europe, Stranger by the Lake has already won numerous awards including Best Director at this past year's Cannes Film Festival. All of the positive critical acclaim is the strangest aspect about Stranger by the Lake, an ultimately unsatisfying erotic thriller with some hot gay sex thrown in for good measure. GRADE: C-