Albert Camus’ 1942 novella, originally published in English as The Outsider, is centred on Meursault, a pied-noir shipping clerk of French heritage in 1930s Algiers. Ozon’s adaptation, shot in sumptuous black and white, has a strong period feel and sticks closely to Camus’ dialogue, with added political pointers. It opens with a jolly 1930s newsreel tour of the city, finishing with a staged shot of scowling Fez-wearing Algerians under a banner stating: ‘We are French. Long Live France’. Ozon juxtaposes this with a sly shot of ‘Algeria Liberation Front’ graffiti on another city street, making clear that this identity is contested.
The narrative is straightforward, though what it all adds up to is less so. Meursault attends his mother’s funeral. He happens to meet a one-time colleague, Marie, and they later go back to his place. A neighbour, Raymond, invites Mersault and Marie to the beach. There, with Raymond’s gun, and dazzled by the sun, he shoots dead an Algerian Arab who’s been following Raymond.
