Stranger by the Lake

This fascinating drama is part-thriller, part-study in homoerotic psychology, and sticks rigorously to just one location - a French lakeside bathing area and its surrounding cruising grounds in high summer. Every day handsome Frank (Pierre Deladonchamps) comes to the lake to meet men, mostly for sex although his longing for companionship draws him to another lonely soul, semi-closeted Henri (Patrick D'Assumçao). One night, Franck sees Michel (Christophe Paou), the hunkiest guy at the lake, drown his lover - a sequence shot entirely in longshot to make it more ambiguous. This only increases his attraction to the ruthless Adonis and they start hooking up on subsequent days, which some may find baffling but which makes total sense within the film's sticky brew of sex, death and neediness. Viewers who aren't accustomed to watching hardcore sex should be advised, but everyone else will be entranced by this bold, troubling exploration of the murkier regions of desire.