It was a joyous occasion for director Alain Guiraudie to be chosen as the recipient of the Queer Palm for his film “L’Inconnu du Lac”. He also won the director’s awardearlier in the evening in the "Un Certain Regard" competition. Guiraudie came on stage together with his lead actors Pierre de Ladonchamps, Christophe Paou, the producer of the film, and several of the other actors.
The crisp evenness of the director of “L’Inconnu du Lac” is a no frill, somber introspection into gay life at a lake in the Côte d’Asur area. The harshness of the stony beach where men show up to be seen, and the unglamorous opportunity it provides for gay men to later have a shag in the nearby woods is part of a methodical study in the hands of an excellent craftsman.
While Guiraudie is free in showing the sexual relations between the men he also authenticates and legitimizes this culture for audiences so that by the end of the film it becomes as worthy of introspection as other cultural gatherings in society. The theme of the film is not cruising but homophobia.
When Franck, (Pierre Deladonchamps) witnesses a murder in the lake committed by the man he desires Michel (Christophe Pauo), he acquires amnesia under the throes of passion, when suddenly the perpetrator is free to be with him. Meanwhile Guiraduie shows how important friendship and acceptance of others is to gay culture, not just sexual relationships, with a charming character called Henri Patrick D’Assumçao that Franck befriends. Also noteworthy is Inspector Damroder (Jerome Chappatte) who investigates the drowning of a gay man and his way of discussing the subculture in a way that again authenticates its existence.
Cannes 
