April 14, 2026
FILM: THE STRANGER
DIRECTED BY: FRANCOIS OZON
WRITTEN BY: FRANCOIS OZON, PHILIPPE PIAZZO (BASED ON THE NOVEL BY ALBERT CAMUS)
STARRING: BENJAMIN VOISIN, REBECCA MARDER, PIERRE LOTTIN
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There are some recent films that have been worth four star reviews for the complexity and audacity of their writing and directing (One Battle After Another, Anora) and others for their original plots and use of technical artistry (Sirat, Nouvelle Vague.) Then there is a film like The Stranger which manages to combine highly skilled acting, cinematography, and production design with a script adapted from Albert Camus’ The Stranger which make it a highly philosophical, thought-provoking, and visually stimulating experience. Francois Ozon, whose previous works (Swimming Pool, Summer of 85, Peter von Kant, The Crime is Mine) I’ve only partially admired, has directed and co-written the film which works on multiple levels. This isn’t to say that one doesn’t have to be in the right frame of mind to view The Stranger, but it certainly helps. It’s a film to contemplate both during and after a viewing.
Shot completely in black and white, the film takes place in 1930s Algeria. Meursault has just entered a prison and tells another inmate that he is there because he killed an Arab. The story then takes us back to a time in the not too distant past when Meursault finds out that his mother has passed away. Taking a train to the seaside town where she lived, he remains unemotional and indifferent to what has happened. One of the guests includes his mother’s frail fiancé whom Meursault shows little interest in establishing any kind of connection with or having any empathy for. The scene sets up who he is as a character and foreshadows how it will lead to his downfall.
After heading back home, he decides to visit the beach where he meets up with a woman named Marie with whom he has had a romantic relationship. They then go to a movie theater to see a comedy and have little discussion of Meursault’s recent loss. This doesn’t seem to bother him in the least though as he seems to have no real interest in emotional connections. Marie wants to marry him but he states “love means nothing.” He silently observes one of his neighbors being cruel to a dog and another person who is clearly abusing the woman in his life but he doesn’t want to get involved. He is essentially indifferent to his life, career, and setting. He has no life expectations. He doesn’t believe in God and says that “if you imagine evil, you will attract it.” Then the aforementioned murder of an Arab occurs on a beach and Meursault is left to stand trial. When asked if he’s nervous about the trial he replies that he’s not and is more fascinated by it because he’s never experienced one before.
On the surface this all may sound like a character devoid of any soul. Of course, that depends on if you believe in the concept of a soul to begin with, which Meursault, as a non-religious person, does not. Viewers are then asked to consider many questions about the man and whether he is truly responsible for the Arab’s death and whether he deserves punishment for it. Because he shows no remorse, is he a monster? Psychologists might call him a psychopath or sociopath but are these labels necessary for a man who essentially feels empty inside?
Writer Albert Camus was a philosopher and political activist. His particular perspective was based on absurdism which suggests the universe is irrational and meaningless. Meursault completely reflects that philosophy. Something in his life stripped away any of his beliefs and reliance on the institutions most of us come to accept as rational and necessary to survive on our planet. But does this mean he’s a bad person? He recognizes the inevitability of death and the power of the sun but nothing else means anything to him.
Playing the character is French actor Benjamin Voisin, who is known for films such as Ozon’s Summer of 85 and Lost Illusions. He is young and model good-looking. In fact, the camera loves him and captures not only his sculpted cheek bones and toned nude body but also his subtle projection of indifference and apathy. It’s a highly skilled and controlled performance. We are at once attracted to and annoyed with him.
The overall look of the film feels like something out of the French past. It’s arty and very well in keeping with its 1930s setting. We become immersed in the world created by Camus and Ozon which is at once rooted in the past but also very relevant to today. Some say that young people are not interested in politics or related causes these days. They’re only interested in immediate gratification and likes on their smart devices. Are they apathetic in the same way Meursault is? Have they also found little meaning and value in the institutions that previous generations established? While Ozon’s film doesn’t address this directly, I believe he threads a line from the past one hundred years that suggests such “soullessness” isn’t necessarily evil but just not interested in a world of ideas they find meaningless.
The Stranger is currently playing limited release and opens this week at the Music Box Theater in Chicago.