L'inconnu du lac [Stranger by the Lake] (Alain Guiraudie, 2013)

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#1 Post by **Finch** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 8:24 pm

zedz wrote:Stranger by the Lake (Alain Guiraudie) – A very dark (in more ways than one – encroaching night has seldom been more ominous in a film) and disturbing thriller, full of naked men, frequently fucking one another (you have been warned). The filmmaking is brilliantly assured, pindrop-sensitive to changes of mood, and builds to a hair-raising depiction of l’amour fou. The subject matter and its explicitness is clearly going to limit the film’s exposure, but if you’re really interested in great filmmaking, just close your eyes and swallow.

I'd love to see this but it's not released in the UK until March 2014. The French DVD (no BD alas) won't be English-friendly according to Amazon France; Strand bought it for US distribution and it's touring festivals this year. Madman will release the film in mid-October in Australia, so fingers crossed there'll be a BD from them early next year.

repeat · #2 Post by **repeat** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 4:31 am

Stranger by the Lake is a really great film, and so beautifully shot it definitely needs to be viewed on Blu-ray - what a crime that the French release is DVD only. It really is a strange and unsettling melange of tones and moods: on the one hand it is indeed a dark, disturbing and nocturnal thriller, which elements are only highlighted by the fact that most of it actually happens in broad daylight and in a decidedly lighter mood. Personally I found lots of cheeky humour in it as well. (Edit: I hasten to add that despite my unfortunate choice of adjective there, I don't mean the sort of humour perceived by giggling 18-year-olds during the sex scenes, but rather many of the secondary characters who seemed quite intentionally comical in a sympathetic way - even the inspector)

For those who have already seen it, there's a great interview with Guiraudie about the film's formal aspects in Cinema Scope (contains spoilers)

#3 Post by **zedz** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:08 pm

repeat wrote:Stranger by the Lake is a really great film, and so beautifully shot it definitely needs to be viewed on Blu-ray

Or in a cinema.

Actually, if any film was designed to be seen in a big dark room surrounded by strangers, this is it.

JabbaTheSlut · #4 Post by **JabbaTheSlut** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:40 pm

A great film. Felt like an instant classic. Amazing image, sound and performances. Beautiful, raw, minimalist, passionate, and yes, strange. Perfect ending.

FerdinandGriffon · #5 Post by **FerdinandGriffon** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:06 pm

zedz wrote:
repeat wrote:Stranger by the Lake is a really great film, and so beautifully shot it definitely needs to be viewed on Blu-ray
Or in a cinema.

Agreed. Unfortunately, what I saw projected at the NYFF was definitely some kind of sub-DCP format, probably a blu-ray, and I wouldn't be surprised if Strand didn't upgrade for the film's eventual theatrical release. I've noticed that StudioCanal has been distributing blu-rays rather than DCPs for theatrical arthouse releases here in NYC (You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet and The Look of Love, both of whose titles now seem ironic.). Strand's track record isn't so hot, and if other distributors are going to follow Studiocanal down this accursed road, it might as well be them.

The Guiraudie itself is wonderful. What I love most about it is the setting, and the way he simultaneously immerses the viewer in it in a very immediately sensual, textural way, whilst at the same time abstracting it into a purely geometrical plane, wherein each figure has a distinct, if sometimes mysterious, role. Those shots of the car park are some of the funniest, smartest, and loveliest I've seen this year.

FerdinandGriffon · #6 Post by **FerdinandGriffon** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:25 pm

PS: Dennis Lim mentioned at the screening I was at that Lincoln Center will be doing a complete Guiraudie series in January. I'd only seen the early stuff through Ce vieux reve qui bouge previous to this, so I'll definitely be setting some time aside.

repeat · #7 Post by **repeat** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:29 pm

FerdinandGriffon wrote:at the same time abstracting it into a purely geometrical plane, wherein each figure has a distinct, if sometimes mysterious, role

Totally this - Dennis Lim in Artforum quipped that "at times it suggests Cruising as directed by Hong Sang-soo", which despite being whimsical is actually an apt description of the film's mixture of sinister threat and architectural play

It was suggested somewhere that the formal strictness and minimalism of this film was something of a departure for Guiraudie, so not sure what to expect of the earlier stuff (haven't seen any)... Any recommendations?

#8 Post by **zedz** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 1:59 am

FerdinandGriffon wrote:
zedz wrote:
repeat wrote:Stranger by the Lake is a really great film, and so beautifully shot it definitely needs to be viewed on Blu-ray
Or in a cinema.
Agreed. Unfortunately, what I saw projected at the NYFF was definitely some kind of sub-DCP format, probably a blu-ray,

Ouch. It seems weird that the NYFF wouldn't be showing this in a better format, since the DCP is very nice indeed, and handles the extreme low light of several key scenes beautifully.

JakeB · #9 Post by **JakeB** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 7:30 am

For any UK people in the north, this is showing next month at the Leeds International Film Festival: http://www.leedsfilm.com/films/stranger-lake/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FerdinandGriffon · Wed Dec 18, 2013 3:43 pm

Thanks for all that David. I've only seen L'Inconnu, Ce vieux reve, and some early shorts, so I'm giddy with anticipation for the complete retrospective the Film Society of Lincoln Center is mounting in January.

repeat · #11 Post by **repeat** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 4:07 pm

Thanks for the primer! I noticed the mid-length Sunshine for the Poor (2001) is streaming on Mubi, might give that a spin and move from there.

Is there a Blu-ray of L'Inconnu du lac out already or in the works? I can only find the DVD on amazon.fr. It comes with a 92-page booklet that includes the screenplay!

#12 Post by **Finch** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:08 pm

You reminded me to check Madman's website and sadly, they too will only be offering the DVD:
DVD

I don't imagine Strand and Peccadillo (its US & UK distributors) will be any different so I'll get the Madman disc.

#13 Post by **Matt** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:55 pm

Strand put out a Blu-ray of Post Tenebras Lux (a decidedly less-commercial film than this), so there's hope they might put out a Blu-ray (but probably only if there's a pre-existing transfer, which maybe there isn't).

#14 Post by **swo17** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:14 pm

Matt wrote:Strand put out a Blu-ray of Post Tenebras Lux (a decidedly less-commercial film than this), so there's hope they might put out a Blu-ray (but probably only if there's a pre-existing transfer, which maybe there isn't).

Remember too that Strand actually deviated from the existing transfer for PTL, and got the director to sign off on it to boot.

repeat · #15 Post by **repeat** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:38 pm

Many thanks for the insight on the French release - I was especially worried about the night scenes, but good to know it's well encoded. I saw the DCP as well and found nothing to complain about (the theatre was so full I had to sit in the second row and it still looked good). I guess there's little chance of a Blu appearing anywhere so I guess I'd better pick this one up!

It's crazy how many great (or at least highly interesting) French filmmakers are practically unavailable on English-friendly video, I don't know how anyone gets by without a basic understanding of French these days... I hope some of these Guiraudie discs have French HoH subs at least as my listening comprehension is still almost nonexistent

#16 Post by **Matt** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:43 pm

I can't find the French Blu-ray for sale anywhere, though.

dfzp · #17 Post by **dfzp** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:21 pm

The French DVD of "L'inconnu" definitely has HOH French subtitles. I remember being surprised by it, since it's the first of all the French DVD's I own (the extras, including Guiraudie's first short film, are not subtitled though).

#18 Post by **Finch** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 12:23 pm

UK press notes include a Q&A

Have emailed them about whether they plan to release the film on Blu-Ray as well.

PS.: Drop Jason Bradbury at jason(at)peccapics.com an email to state your interest. I've suggested to him that they do a Dual-Format if they consider doing a Blu at all.

tenia · #19 Post by **tenia** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:30 pm

Matt wrote:I can't find the French Blu-ray for sale anywhere, though.

That's normal : the movie has only been released on DVD in France.

JakeB · #20 Post by **JakeB** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:09 pm

This film really hit the spot when I saw it last November. I will go and see it if it gets programmed at the local cinema. I'm also going to try nab that poster, too. One of the best I've seen recently.

JabbaTheSlut · #21 Post by **JabbaTheSlut** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 6:29 pm

http://www.filmcomment.com/article/stra ... -guiraudie" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

#22 Post by **Finch** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 10:23 am

Good news from Jason Bradbury at Pecca Pics: "Thank you for getting in touch. Good news, we are currently planning to produce a Blu-ray of Stranger By The Lake. However, due to the often prohibited cost of Blu-ray authoring and production, as with most of our recent Blu-ray’s we plan to monitor demand and if we aren’t seeing enough interest we may have to withdraw.

To be honest though, I find this extremely unlikely, as we have been seeing such a demand for the film. And also, the film really warrants a Blu-ray with its exceptional sound and cinematography.

We will be putting the listing live on Amazon in the next week or so, if possible keep an eye out and pre order as that is how we monitor demand."

I believe their Weekend BD was region-coded so it's probably safe to assume Stranger by the Lake will be Region B but the specs won't be up for another week or so.

repeat · #23 Post by **repeat** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 11:11 am

Thanks for this information, really great news! Will gladly double-dip on this one (to get the screenplay that comes with the French DVD)

Oedipax · #24 Post by **Oedipax** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 11:41 am

That's fantastic news, Finch! I was fortunate enough to see the film theatrically in Paris over the summer and have been crossing my fingers for a proper blu release ever since. Hard to believe it didn't happen in France.

#25 Post by **Matt** » Fri Jan 17, 2014 2:52 am

Film Comment interview with Guiraudie on the occasion of a complete retrospective of his work at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

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