On Sunday, I was scrolling through the movie listings, thinking maybe one way to get myself away from the computer screen and the phone screen was the big screen. There are few places where my phone doesn’t end up getting attention, but the cinema is one of them.
I was all set to book in for the latest Jim Jarmusch film when I saw a black-and-white image and “The Stranger” listed. Could it be? It was. A new film by the French director François Ozon, based on the novel by Albert Camus. I have seen a few Ozon films, and if I have a favorite French director, it is him, if anything for the delight that was 8 Women which was probably the first French film that I saw at an arthouse theatre in San Diego.
I love The Stranger. I was fascinated by it when I first read it. The idea of the Sun as an antagonist has never left me. In my own life, sometimes the oppressive nature of heat or the sunlight on my body has overridden reason. Personally, I’m very affected by high temperatures because they exacerbate my MS. During the summer, I am often apprehensive about contact with the sun as a result. It hasn’t driven me to murder (sorry if this is a spoiler, but the book is from 1942, so I didn’t feel a warning was necessary) but I am not a fan of the heat nonetheless.
I didn’t picture the character of Meursault to be as beautiful as the actor who portrayed him, Benjamin Voisin, who did so masterfully. I truly loved the way he played Meursault. Sometimes the aloofness was painful to observe. The bluntness of the writing was perfect and any emotion portrayed by others contrasted sharply with Meursault.
I love what Ozon did and the story was somehow richer in black and white. I do adore black and white sometimes, as in the absence of color, light plays such a huge role. And of course in this film that was fitting.
It was a worthwhile trip to the cinema. I want to reread The Stranger and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t gotten to it yet. Now, I need to book in to see Jarmusch.
Now I want to see it too! The Stranger was the first book Erik gave to me to read after we started dating in 1997. I remember reading it on the Greyhound bus and the writing being very captivating.
HI Rabiah, I saw a preview for this and was intrigued. I'll check it out!