L'inconnu du lac

Stranger by the Lake was the sensation of the Un Certain Regard programme at Cannes in 2013. And rightly so. Alain Guiraudie linked Hitchcockian suspense to the steaminess of the gay SM thriller Cruising and the sensuality of Swimming Pool. The form is repetitive and hypnotic; each of the ten days of the story is introduced with the same shot of a car park. The rural sauce typical of Guiraudie and the ominous soundscape add the final touch.
The location is a beach frequented by homosexuals looking for anonymous sex. The handsome Franck bumps into the elder Henri, but falls madly in love with Michel - a Tom Selleck look-alike, but then much more dangerous. Michel turns out to be a murderer. While Henri aims to unmask him, Franck protects him against the police. The combination of love, fairly directly portrayed lust and a death wish can only lead to a fatal ending.