Stranger by the Lake

Christophe Paou & Pierre Deladonchamps in Stranger by the Lake

Time Investment: 97 min.
Return on Investment: 95 min.

Like any human ritual, there is something poetic in the act of cruising. Think about it when you’re in the Meat Rack this summer: the dance of stares and nods; the rawness of nature and nakedness; the moans that pierce the otherwise silent woods. And that’s exactly how we see it through the eyes of out director Alain Guiraudie in his new film Stranger by the Lake (Strand Releasing).

Winner of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival’s Queer Palm and the Best Director Awards, Stranger by the Lake illuminates the all-consuming world of casual sex that gay men know all too well. In Stranger, young Frank visits the same rural cruising spot every day. Frank’s routine in this timeless present is almost identical every time; we watch over and over again as he parks his car, goes for a swim, talks to the closeted blue collar loner Henri, and searches the woods for mustachioed Michel each day. The excitement is the same, as if it were Frank’s first time. He’s stuck in a gay version of Groundhog Day and his determination to win Michel fails to dissipate even once a dead body surfaces in the water.

Guiraudie perfectly captures our narcissistic sexual selves—the ones that ignore danger (be it violent behavior or unprotected sex) for the thrill of the chase, and favor sex with strangers over fun with friends. Through Frank we see this most basic of gay rituals as it is—silly, sexy, sad, empowering and dangerous—the hunt defines us as much as it might destroy us.