François Ozon's 'Lo straniero' reinterprets Camus with political edge and stark black-and-white cinematography

In April 2026, François Ozon's film adaptation of Albert Camus's 1942 novel 'The Stranger' made its debut. Unlike Luchino Visconti's 1967 colorful version, this adaptation features striking black-and-white cinematography by Manuel Dacosse. The film begins with propaganda-like visuals celebrating French colonial progress in Algiers. It centers on Meursault, a clerk marked by emotional detachment, who kills an Arab man on the beach, with hints of repressed homoerotic desire. Ozon's visual style is influenced by Michelangelo Antonioni, focusing on surfaces that mirror Meursault's life. The film wraps up with a shot of the murdered Arab's widow, underscoring colonial power dynamics, while Ozon's political reinterpretation remains faithful to Camus's original tone.