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SummaryMeursault (Benjamin Voisin) works as a clerk at an office in Algiers during the French colonial occupation. A modest man who keeps to himself, Meursault finds his routine upended by the sudden death of his mother. At her funeral, he faces scrutiny from all corners for his failure to perform his grief. Meursault’s reputation for otherworldly detac... Read More
Directed By:François Ozon
Written By:Albert Camus, François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo
The Stranger
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
91% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
9% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Apr 7, 2026
100
Adapted by director François Ozon, the script makes subtle adjustments to Camus's work without ever demystifying its more enigmatic elements.
Apr 10, 2026
90
Franҫois Ozon, with abiding respect for the high-wattage brilliance of his countryman’s spartan masterpiece about an apathetic killer, has given us a movie adaptation that does daylight-noir justice to its alluring mysteries, while threading in some freshly necessary political context.
Sep 4, 2025
90
Confounding, disturbing and yet icily compelling, the experience of watching François Ozon’s The Stranger is not entirely dissimilar to that of reading Albert Camus’ 1942 classic.
Apr 10, 2026
80
Camus’s prose is heard as we sink into intellectual concerns that obsessed French intellectuals through the 1950s. But it remains a gripping piece that treats its source with great respect.
Mar 29, 2026
75
François Ozon’s adaptation of Albert Camus’s novel is haunting, transportive, and tragically humanist, a worthy introduction to the text for the skeptical (or a refresher for the lapsed) and a memorably grim drama in its own right.
Apr 16, 2026
67
It may well be that Ozon has made the best possible conventional adaptation of the book. Yet maybe it requires a more unconventional touch to truly translate Camus’ point.
Sep 4, 2025
50
The Stranger is a distancing, cold watch that’s sure to leave many viewers feeling completely stranded, which just may be what Ozon is going for.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
83% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Apr 17, 2026
8
Calm on the surface. Quietly unsettling underneath. François Ozon doesn’t rush—and The Stranger benefits from that patience. It’s controlled, observant, and built on tension that doesn’t need to announce itself. The film lets silence do most of the work, and somehow, that’s where it hits the hardest. What stands out is the restraint. Nothing feels overplayed. The narrative unfolds slowly, almost cautiously, trusting the audience to stay with it rather than chasing attention. But that same restraint can feel limiting. At times, it holds back just enough to stop it from becoming truly unforgettable. Final Verdict: Subtle, sharp, and just unsettling enough to linger. Cinema wins. Mediocrity loses.
Production Company:
- FOZ
- Gaumont
- France 2 Cinéma
- Macassar Productions
- Scope Pictures
- Canal+
- France Télévisions
- Ciné+OCS
- Cofinova 22
- Cinémage 20
- Indéfilms 14
- Cinéventure 11
Release Date:Apr 3, 2026
Duration:2 h 2 m
Awards
Lumiere Awards, France
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
César Awards, France
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Venice Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
