Ending *SPOILERS*


It seems to me that many people when discussing the ending are forgetting about the huge role that the environment/scenery plays in the film. Franck is literally "lost" in the woods by himself at the end, because his desire and infatuation have led him down a dangerous path, and Michel, representing our destructive tendencies and temptations, is going to kill him. He calls out to Michel still because he cannot help himself; no matter how hard he tries he is still caught up in his temptations and infatuation. He uses the word "love" several times when talking about Michel, but since we know the film takes place in only ten days, what Franck thinks is love is actually more like being smitten or infatuated.

Henri's character represents the meaningful and deep, but nevertheless blandness of everyday life and safety/security. We as the viewer know Franck should be with Henri - it's the safer and more meaningful choice, since they connect on a deeper level that goes beyond just carnal pleasure. But Franck consistently leaves Henri by himself or breaks off plans with him to be with Michel, who is not good for him but provides him with thrills and excitement.

While the film is very sexually charged, I think people lose sight of the fact that sex here is really just used as a metaphor for all of life's temptations and human beings' self-destructive behaviour. You could easily take out sex and insert any number of thrilling but destructive behaviours here and the meaning would be similar. Whether it's skydiving, mountain climbing, boating, drinking, smoking, drugs, etc., humans constantly engage in behaviour that is destructive to themselves or others around them, and they do it merely for the thrill or physical pleasure it brings. This movie asks some very meaningful questions about why we do that, and why when we are crazily pursuing a particular goal or activity that we usually don't stop to think about the potential consequences. We are so often willing to roll the dice and risk it all for a temporary physical pleasure or thought. What makes the movie so great is that the director shows there are no simple answers. If we lived in the safe and secure way every day life might have no excitement, but if we live only through pleasure and adrenaline life can end very quickly or have no meaning, since any thrilling behaviour becomes commonplace if done enough.

The movie's setting in a "cruising spot" is a perfect one because it captures the dichotomy of men (or anyone else for that matter) metaphorically pursuing both pleasure and deeper connections, with the line between them often being blurred.

Don't spend too much time wondering about what happened to Franck in the end, because it's not about what "happened" to him physically, or whether Michel captures and kills him; it's more about the path Franck's choices have led him down, and most importantly, why his desires have overridden his rational thoughts and what that says about human nature.

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Great post!
I have just seen this movie and you have perfectly summed up my thoughts about it.

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Ditto to previous poster. I've said time and time again that Henri is the film's most important character. Why put Henri in at all, if it's just porn? Sex is as you say just another high-risk activity. The movie's about just how lonely everyone is and how some people would choose death rather than loneliness. It's about fear.

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Great post hilary, especially the last two sentences. You have summed up my long-winded thoughts in just a few concise statements. :) I completely agree. Death before loneliness!

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Thank you, but what you wrote is real genius. You should post it as a formal review.

I don't think Franck should end up with Henri. Although Henri seems to fantasize Franck as a lover, he also seems equally at home with being Franck's father-figure. He just wants to belong, somehow, some way. Age and growing older makes Henri feel erased. Sacrificing his life for Franck gives him at least a final illusion of not being forgotten.

As you say, environment is all-important. This environment is ironically artificial (all exclusive environments are). Henri is constantly on the periphery of young men who don't see or even worse see him and ridicule him or pity him. Would he have killed himself if he didn't isolate himself in a place where rejection was ensured? That's the point, and it's the point about Franck too. Maybe they're both born suicides. Being gay or straight has nothing to do with it. I'm glad you bring up the unimportance of knowing Franck's fate. I assumed that Michel, being a psychopath, did the cruelest thing possible--for Franck: abandoned him, a fate worse than death for Franck. Psychopaths seem to have a sixth sense about what kind of pain will hurt a particular person the worst, and in Franck's case, it's not being killed.

The beach and woods are a place with little apparent meaning for most of the guys who hang out there. But for sensitive souls like Henri and Franck, the environment symbolizes much much more.

From a certain perspective, Stranger By the Lake may actually be construed as a cautionary story about homosexuality, period. I'm by no means saying that's how the writer or director saw it, but romance--gay or straight--can exacerbate loneliness to deadly levels.

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Thanks, Hilary. And once again, your take on the movie is great. I really like your second last paragraph about the environment. I completely agree. The director does a great job of showing how the environment seems to matter very little to most guys, who are just looking for sex, but for Henri and Franck it is a reflection of what they seek in their lives. They want the calmness and serenity that comes from knowing they have companionship, and that they have found "their place".

I also really like your thoughts about Henri. Very insightful.

Sometimes I am dismayed by the amount of goofballs that post on IMDB, but every once in awhile a post like yours reminds me that it is worth coming on here, because there ARE those out there like myself who want to discuss movie meanings in a deeper way, without just trolling.

:)

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Very excellent points and I will definitely be watching the movie again with your thoughts in mind!

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