The Stranger (15)

(Subtitled)

Shot in luxuriant black and white, François Ozon’s adaptation of Albert Camus’s classic novella is a coolly compelling study of morality, detachment and social expectation.

In 1930s Algiers, Meursault (Benjamin Voisin) drifts through life with a disarming indifference, barely reacting to his mother’s death and showing only mild interest in his relationship with Marie (Rebecca Marder). When he becomes entangled in a neighbour’s dispute, a sudden act of violence leads to a courtroom reckoning that focuses as much on his character as his crime, exposing the rigid expectations and moral codes of the society around him.

Ozon keeps the storytelling direct and unfussy, allowing the ideas to surface through behaviour rather than explanation. He opts for casual honesty, refusing to play by the usual rules. Beautiful monochrome imagery adds period texture, while the performances ground the film’s more abstract themes. Voisin is particularly good, hinting at emotions beneath Meursault’s blank exterior, making his actions both unsettling and quietly understandable.

Measured and thought-provoking, this is brilliant filmmaking that invites you to sit with its questions rather than answer them, encouraging deeper reflection later.