For his latest film, the legendary French director François Ozon tackles a classic of French literature — The Stranger by Albert Camus. The novel, published in 1942, follows the passive Meursault, who learns of his mother’s death and, infamously, feels nothing. He is literature’s quintessential existential figure, drifting through his own story until, for reasons unclear even to himself, he shoots an unnamed Arab man on a beach.

The novel has been read by millions. A staple of high school curricula and often regarded as one of the greatest works of modern literature, it has nonetheless rarely been adapted for cinema. In fact, only one other director has attempted to bring Camus’s work to the screen — Luchino Visconti — and his version, starring Marcello Mastroianni as Meursault, is often considered a noble failure.

Ozon’s The Stranger is far more successful. Starring Benjamin Voisin, an up-and-coming French actor with a face straight out of classic Hollywood, Ozon’s take on Camus’s novel matches its languorousness. Shot in black and white, it evokes the cinema of the 1940s and captures the same oppressive, sun-bleached atmosphere that defines the book.

We caught up with François Ozon to discuss his take on The Stranger, the controversial aspects he chose to change, and his famously prolific approach to filmmaking.

Barry Pierce: What is your relationship to Camus’s novel?
François Ozon: I have no special relationship with the novel. I read it when I was a student at school. But the book is such a major part of French culture, everybody knows the character of Merseault. If you had asked me, even two years ago, would I adapt The Stranger, I would have said — impossible! I would never attach myself to a masterpiece. I have made adaptations before, but only from very minor works that few people knew. I think it’s dangerous to adapt a masterpiece, so few directors succeed. 

The idea to adapt The Stranger came from another project that I had to abandon, because I couldn’t find the money to make it. It was a portrait of a young man today, out in the world, disenchanted, who commits suicide. Nobody wanted to follow me on this project. [Laughs] But I was quite obsessed with this character. It was going to be Benjamin playing him. So, I had the idea to read The Stranger again, and I was wise to go back. The book is still so powerful, so mysterious. I felt — it’s impossible to give this book to young people! Even as an adult, I don’t understand everything in it. But at the same time, it’s very easy to read. I thought that the story of The Stranger was so much better than my script and Meursault is such a powerful character, I wanted to know how it could possibly work on screen. 

BP: What was the process of adaptation like? Spending all that time with Camus’s writing, as well as with Meursault himself.
FO: The first thing I needed when I started work on my adaptation was to understand the context of the writing. The book was written in 1939 and published in 1942, during the Second World War. I needed to understand, historically, what Algeria was like at this time, because it was under the rule of France. I researched colonialism, how the French and Arabs lived side-by-side. I asked — why did Camus famously not give a name to the Arab who was murdered? All these questions were important to me. I spoke to historians, but also to psychologists. I wanted to find out what exactly was Meursault’s problem. When you write a script, you have to understand the psychology of your characters. You must understand why they perform their actions. With Meursault, there’s just no explanation. I asked — is he an autist? Is he a serial killer? Is he a psychopath? I realised that it doesn’t matter. He is a white page on which you project what you want.

“I think it’s dangerous to adapt a masterpiece, so few directors succeed.”

BP: You break from the novel slightly by actually giving a name to the man who is murdered by Meursault on the beach. You make him human in a way that Camus does not. Why?
FO: I think Camus did that because it was his way of showing how little these people existed in the view of the French colonialists. And it was a literary device to just name characters as archetypes, like the American crime stories of the 30s. Characters were “the Arab” or “the Egyptian” or “the Italian” and so on. Reading it in the present day can feel a little racist, but at the time it was just a device. For me, it was obvious, after all these years, to give a name and a voice to this character. Especially in the trial, when his name is never mentioned! His family are not called to witness. No one speaks about him.

BP: This is your second time working with Benjamin Voisin. Why was he your Meursault?
FO: It was a big challenge for him. He is exactly the opposite of Meursault in real life. He is more like his character in Summer of 85. In fact, Summer of 85 is a documentary about Benjamin in a certain way. [Laughs] I asked him not to act, which is quite something to ask of an actor. He was very depressed during the shoot. Usually, after a day of filming, we’d go out and have drinks. We were in Morocco, it was so warm, we had a swimming pool, but he would stay in his room, watching the flies. That’s what he said. We’d ask him where he was and he would say — I stayed in my room and watched the flies. 

“I love the process of making a film, the collaboration with the actors, with the crew. If I didn’t have to promote my movies, I would be able to make two films a year. [laughs]”

BP: Your cinematic output is legendary. You’ve released a new film every year since 2019. You’re clearly in a very creatively prosperous era. How do you do it?
FO: I love to work! Camus said “To create is to live twice.” That is the case! I love the process of making a film, the collaboration with the actors, with the crew. If I didn’t have to promote my movies, I would be able to make two films a year. [Laughs] 

BP: You don’t feel like you’re going to burn out?
FO: You know, the shooting of this film lasted seven weeks. Seven weeks out of one year, it’s not that much time. Of course you have the editing process, the writing, getting the money, but it’s possible. I don’t understand why people don’t work like me. I think people are lazy! [laughs] No, I’m very lucky. I had some films that were successful enough in France that I can find finance. But, for example, the project that led me to The Stranger I had to give up on because I could not find the money. But I’m able to bounce back.  I don’t have a problem with inspiration, because there are stories everywhere. It’s more a question of making sure the project is right for me.

The Stranger is in UK cinemas and digital now.