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The Stranger

Play trailer 1:54 Poster for The Stranger Now Playing 2h 0m Drama Crime Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 46 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
In French Algeria, Meursault drifts through life and love with mysterious detachment. When he stands accused of murdering an Arab man, indifference is his only alibi in François Ozon's fresh take on Albert Camus's classic novel.
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Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian 15h
5/5
François Ozon’s lustrously beautiful and superbly realised monochrome version of Albert Camus’s novella L’Etranger has an almost supernaturally detailed sense of period and place. Go to Full Review
Hannah Pettit London Evening Standard 16h
4/5
Ozon therefore amplifies the connection between the colonial setting and Meursault’s acceptance of the absurd... It’s an appropriate choice and results in a fresh, more politically aware re-telling. Go to Full Review
Bilge Ebiri New York Magazine/Vulture 4d
The Stranger, it turns out, is a story for our times, which makes this lovely new version doubly welcome. Go to Full Review
Sebastian Scotney The Arts Desk 12h
4/5
Ozon has made much more than a very beautiful film about one man's detached response to the absurdity of existence. The Stranger quietly but unabashedly confronts the horror that the West visits on what is now known as the Majority World Go to Full Review
Steve Erickson Gay City News 1d
Up to the point where Meursault finally erupts into an explanation of his state of mind while speaking to a priest, “The Stranger” respects his inscrutability, without shying away from the damage he causes. Go to Full Review
Charles Johnston Spectrum Culture 2d
An alluring adaptation and deeply engaging character study that recreates Algiers in the late ‘30s in exquisite detail. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Michael 4d Great retells by of Camus’s novel. Acting was superb and I am a huge Ozon fan. See more Runa R @runa.r 4d Interesting film, and a good portrayal of Camus’ character, showing us what it means to accept reality as it is, without adhering to any rules. Benjamin Voisin is excellent in the role. See more dlma1 M @dlma1 Dec 25 I saw this one at the AFI Film Festival in Hollywood. French film of Camus's existentialist novel about an apathetic Frenchman whose total indifference to life causes tragic results. Very well acted by the handsome Benjamin Voisin in the titular role. The rest of the cast provides good support. Direction is adequate and the period recreations are very good. The film follows the novel very well and comes recommended for fans of the novel. 7/10. See more Rémi V @kernel_33 Dec 17 A very faithful and accomplished adaptation, but too self-conscious to truly carry the viewer away. One may thus regret a languid, somewhat slow pace which, rather than fascinating and adding depth, tends to give the film a self-conscious quality—aware of its own merits and seemingly aiming for masterpiece status and the awards ceremonies that might accompany it. Crushed by the mythology of the book, the film becomes overbearing, stifling both discourse and emotion. Too theoretical and lacking visceral power, it is not the masterpiece it dreams of being. A shame, though it remains a very solid work and well worth seeing on the big screen. See more Talal T @RT50568091 Nov 18 L’Étranger" is a hypnotic mix of chaos, heat, and existential coldness. The film captures the clash between French modernity and Maghrebi atmosphere perfectly — sun, sand, silence, and detachment. The taboo-breaking scenes add rawness rather than shock value. Watching it alone made the experience hit deeper: it felt empty, intense, and strangely beautiful at the same time. Not completely flawless, but almost. A film that lingers in your mind long after leaving the cinema. See more Read all reviews
The Stranger

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Movie Info

Synopsis In French Algeria, Meursault drifts through life and love with mysterious detachment. When he stands accused of murdering an Arab man, indifference is his only alibi in François Ozon's fresh take on Albert Camus's classic novel.
Director
François Ozon
Producer
François Ozon
Screenwriter
François Ozon
Distributor
Music Box Films
Production Co
Gaumont, FOZ, France 2 Cinéma
Genre
Drama, Crime
Original Language
French
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 3, 2026, Limited
Runtime
2h 0m