150 Word Review: 'The Stranger' (2026)
Yo maman
Director François Ozon’s gorgeous, mostly faithful black-and-white adaptation of Albert Camus’ absurdist novel The Stranger, about a young, seemingly soulless Frenchman, is in dialogue with Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 neorealist masterpiece The Battle of Algiers, about the Algerian fight for independence, which gives this work about grief and apathy a sharper political focus.
Benjamin Voisin delivers a clever performance as our aloof hero, Meursault, who does not weep at his mother’s funeral, nor defend himself while standing trial for murder. He is emotionally distant, which is predictable; this is Camus, after all. But he’s also sad, and annoying, and, sometimes, ridiculous. Rebecca Marder’s character loves Meursault, but one should never give one’s heart to an existentialist. Ozon’s Algiers is an ancient, sun-dappled city darkened by the French, who do as they please. The pace is steady, hypnotic, inevitable. It’s no surprise Muersalt accepts his fate. When the time comes, will you?