"L'Inconnu du Lac" is a beautifully shot film. That's part of the seductive nature of the experience for the characters and for the viewer. We don't see a lot of gay-themed films like this, minus most of the stereotypes, in a minimalist setting, with threadbare narrative. The protagonist, Franck, is a cute, 20-30-something guy who swims at a lake frequented by other gay men in search of sun and sex. Franck has no trouble attracting attention, with and without his swimsuit on. He quickly befriends an older, unattractive man who always sits alone and seems aloof. Franck's need for connection to others is emphasized by this friendship. When Michel, a handsome, mustachioed hunk, is spotted, Franck goes into hot pursuit mode. The two connect after a while, in one of several graphic sexual encounters, and, much too soon, Franck thinks he's in love. The film takes a sinister turn when Franck witnesses Michel drown a previous companion in the lake. Consumed by desire for Michel, he tells no one about this and, though he admits to a detective that he was there on the evening of the murder, denies he saw anything. Why? Franck is so sexually addicted to Michel that he cannot bear to let him go by exposing him. The relationship between the two men continues, without real development, since Michel will have none of Franck's insistence on anything more than sex. In the end, Franck is consumed, literally by desire: the "petite mort" of sexual pleasure becomes the annihilation of the self. The film's beautiful setting plays against the disturbing narrative, making it a unique, provocative, and often erotic experience.
Review of Stranger by the Lake
