The Stranger

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1:54

The Stranger

Apr 2026

2h 0m

Drama

Crime

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

86 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

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.

Critics Consensus

Cleverly contextualizing Albert Camus' existentialist classic within a modern political lens, François Ozon's The Stranger is as intriguing to mull over as it is beautiful to look at.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

May 7

I like that it's in black and white. I think the black and white makes it work -- makes the "heat" work!

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David Sexton

New Statesman

Apr 29

Here’s an accomplished Stranger for today, the story we wish [Albert Camus] had written, rather than the one he himself maintained he had.

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Chase Hutchinson

Seattle Times

Apr 24

3.5/4

By the time it closes with its unexpectedly mournful yet gently searing final frames, reinterpreting and expanding on the enduring source material one final time, it names all that Camus did not.

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Michael Wood

London Review of Books

May 14

None of this would work without Ozon’s restrained and unloaded direction, and, above all, Voisin’s amazing performance.

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Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

May 13

5/5

The more one reflects on it, the more its cold existential unease lingers. One could scarcely hope for a better adaptation of Camus’ text—faithful in spirit and devastating in execution.

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John McDonald

johnmcdonald.net.au

May 13

It’s some sort of achievement to keep the main focus on Camus’s philosophical musings rather than succumb to the political temptation to undertake a sweeping post-colonial revision of the story.

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greg s

Apr 12

I thought it was a brilliant telling of Camus story, but with a sensuality I had not considered.

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Simon

Apr 12

Beautifully filmed. Excellent acting. And, importantly, faithful to the book.

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Melissa

Apr 11

Hypnotic retelling of Camus novella.

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Michael

Apr 4

Great retells by of Camus’s novel. Acting was superb and I am a huge Ozon fan.

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies 2d

This is a really well directed, acted and beautiful looking adaptation shot in breathtaking black and white. The only major defect is the lead character is a cold jerk. That wouldn't be bad if he was more exciting and not a dull jerk.

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John T.

@JohnTesnohlidek 2d

I wanted to love it, and the previews made me feel certain that I would…but I didn’t. I kept waiting for something to happen to make the sorry interesting, though nothing came along. It was a pointless movie about a man’s pointless life and a pointless murder. Like a beautifully stylized Seinfeld episode.

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François Ozon

Director

Benjamin Voisin

Meursault

Rebecca Marder

Marie Cardona

Pierre Lottin

Raymond Sintès

Denis Lavant

Salamano

Swann Arlaud

Aumônier prison

The Stranger: Trailer 1

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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
Release Date (Streaming): May 19, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $242.9K
Runtime: 2h 0m