Set in French Algeria, Meursault moves through life with a quiet emotional distance. His routine is disrupted by the sudden death of his mother. At her funeral, others judge him for not expressing grief in expected ways. As tensions rise within his community, Meursault becomes caught in a chain of escalating conflicts. Events culminate in him being accused of killing a man on a beach. Directed by François Ozon, this film offers a sensitive, queer-inflected interpretation of Albert Camus’s 1942 landmark work of existential literature.

Join us for two special screenings, presented in partnership with Alliance Française of Oxford, including an introduction on Friday 8th May and a post-screening Q&A on Tuesday 12th May with Dr Simon Kemp, author of Oxford Literature Companions: L’Étranger.

Reviews

‘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.’
★★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Presented in partnership with Alliance Française of Oxford, a non profit organization whose goal is to teach and promote French and the francophone cultures all around the world.