L'Etranger (aka The Stranger) (2025)

Set in French Algeria, an office clerk (Benjamin Voisin) is detached from his surroundings and the people who inhabit it. He is indifferent to the suffering of others. A neighbor (Denis Lavant) beats their dog, another neighbor (Pierre Lottin) beats his mistress (Hajar Bouzaouit) and he is apathetic. When he is arrested for killing an Arab boy, he has no explanation or defense for his act. Based on the acclaimed novel by Albert Camus and directed by Francois Ozon (8 FEMMES). Camus' existential novel is one of those classic pieces of literature that is oft deemed unfilmable. Ozon's excellent film is probably as close to a cinematic equivalent as we're going to get. Shot in stunning B&W by Manu Dacosse (PETER VON KANT), it's an impeccably formulated adaptation. Ozon takes some liberties such as making the female roles more prominent and fleshed out but still holding the film firm to Camus' intentions. Previously filmed in 1967 by Luchiino Visconti, I haven't seen that version since (the film has long been out of circulation in the U.S.) and my memories are too vague to make a fair comparison. With Rebecca Marder and Swann Arlaud.