The Stranger is a literal (but still very cinematic) adaptation of the novel by Albert Camus.
Camus's central character, Meursault (Mastroianni) is a Frenchman living in occupied Algiers, profoundly alienated from the world around him. Unable to feel anything, he goes through the motions of his life. He feels nothing at his mother's funeral, he feels nothing at the sight of a man viciously abusing his girlfriend, and, most notably, he feels nothing as he kills an Arab on a sandy beach, in the blistering heat and blinding glare of the North African sun. In the trial that ensues, he is condemned not so much for his crime but for his cool, seemingly uncaring demeanor. Which makes him about as un-Viscontiesque a character as one can imagine.
It is a low-key but magnificent performance, played out against the arid scenery of northern Africa, capturing the blank alienation of Camus's existential anti-hero perfectly.
This is an intelligent and honest film but, while Visconti's and writing are admirable, even he is not quite able to reconcile Meursault's meandering motivelessness with the moral depths alluded to in the novel. Unsurprisingly, Camus's book proves a hard nut to crack as a movie, though this is a commendable attempt.
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