Top 20 Alternative Picks for Cannes 2013: Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake

Stranger by the Lake – Alain Guiraudie

Section: Un Certain Regard

Buzz: Alain Guiraudie is one of the most interesting French filmmakers almost no one in North America has heard of, winning the praises of Jean-Luc Godard for his short 2001 feature, That Old Dream That Moves (“The best film at the Festival de Cannes.”) and continuing on to make some of the freshest, most vibrant, and complex queer films the cinema has ever seen. His last film – 2009’s Directors’ Fortnight alum, The King of Escape – hardly stole the show upon it’s premiere four years ago, but it has gone on to become somewhat of a dark horse critical darling among American critics such as Dan Sallitt and Vadim Rizov. Hopefully this anticipated follow-up will deliver the goods, and be duly lauded.

The Gist:“Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel. An attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this, but wants to live out his passion anyway.”