Stranger by the Lake (2013)

Mr. Man loves French films, and we’re really in love with veteran writer-director Alain Guiraudie’s psycho-sexual thriller Stranger by the Lake (2013). Pierre Deladonchamps co-stars as Franck, a young man who often lounges on a stretch of beach that doubles as a gay cruising spot. When the amorous beach bum shares a brief moment of flirtation with a muscular, mustachioed swimmer Michel (Christophe Paou), under the disapproving eye of a jealous suitor Pascal (François-Renaud Labarthe), Franck’s carefree days come to an abrupt halt. Franck witnesses the two men together in the water and watches as their playful splashing and jostling turns to homicide. Shocked and upset but overly enamored by Michel, Franck keeps quiet about what he’s witnessed, even protecting the sexy killer when the police begin to dig deeper into the mystery of the drowned man. Killer and witness begin a torrid affair that harvests some graphic scenes of sex and nudity. Sounds good, right?

Although some of the sex scenes were shot with body doubles, Pierre Deladonchamps is nude for ninety-five percent of the film. There is a scene of an actual blowjob, lots of jerking off, flip-flopping, and there’s even a cum shot during a hook up. And all this erotic action is enhanced by full nudity from Sébastien Badachaoui, Christophe Paou, Mathieu Vervisch, and Emmanuel Daumas, set on a beautiful beach in the South of France. What more could anyone ask for?