A new trailer can do a lot in two minutes.
The first look at The Stranger, the latest film from French director François Ozon (co-directed with Khaled Haffad), quietly landed online — and it immediately caught our attention.
Sun-drenched exteriors. Stark black-and-white imagery. A young man who seems emotionally out of sync with the world around him. The film adapts Albert Camus’ iconic novel L’Étranger, a story many of us first encountered in school — and maybe never quite forgot.
We haven’t seen the film yet, of course. But knowing Ozon’s track record, this is a project worth watching.
Why Ozon Makes This Interesting
François Ozon has built one of the most varied and intriguing careers in contemporary French cinema. His films are often genre-blending, emotionally layered, and unafraid to explore sexuality, desire, secrecy, and the complicated dynamics between people.
Among the films that helped define his international reputation are three standouts:
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Summer of 85 (Été 85) — a tender, sun-soaked coming-of-age romance that found a strong audience well beyond France.
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Frantz — a beautifully crafted post–World War I drama about grief and reconciliation.
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Swimming Pool — a sleek, psychologically playful thriller that still sparks debate more than twenty years later.
What ties these films together isn’t genre — it’s tone. Ozon has a gift for shifting emotional ground under his characters. He often invites us to question what we think we’re seeing, or how well we truly understand the people onscreen.
That sensibility feels like a natural fit for Camus’ famously detached protagonist, Meursault.
A Familiar Face Returns
In The Stranger, Benjamin Voisin takes on the central role. Many viewers will remember him from Summer of 85, where he delivered a breakout performance full of youthful intensity and vulnerability. Here, at least judging from the trailer, his performance appears more restrained — inward, observant, quietly unsettling.
Opposite him is Rebecca Marder as Marie, bringing warmth and presence to a character who plays an important emotional counterpoint in the story.
The preview leans heavily into atmosphere rather than exposition. There’s sunlight, silence, and tension — especially in the courtroom glimpses that hint at the moral scrutiny at the heart of Camus’ novel.
It doesn’t look flashy. It looks focused.
Release Plans
The Stranger premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2025 and opened in France shortly after. North American distribution has been picked up by Music Box Films, with a U.S. theatrical release expected in 2026.
That likely means a festival run and specialty arthouse rollout — the kind of release strategy that has worked well for Ozon’s films in the past.
Why It Feels Like a Good Fit for Brave New Hollywood
We’re always interested in filmmakers who take risks — especially those who balance style with substance. Ozon has consistently done that throughout his career.
Whether The Stranger becomes one of his defining works remains to be seen. But the pairing of Ozon with Camus, plus the return of Benjamin Voisin, makes this adaptation feel like it’s very much in our wheelhouse.
At the very least, it’s a reminder that international cinema continues to revisit classic texts in ways that feel visually fresh and emotionally relevant.
For Brave New Hollywood readers who appreciate thoughtful, director-driven filmmaking, The Stranger certainly seems worth keeping on the radar.
THE STRANGER (2026) – Film Trailer
