Lux Aeterna (2019 film)

 

Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Lux Aeterna is an experimental 51-minute film in which two actresses taking part in a film about witches where things get too real. The film is an unconventional film about a film that is being made about witches where everything goes wrong Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beatrice Dalle, Abbey Lee Kershaw, and Karl Glusman. Lux Aeterna is a chaotic and eerie film by Gaspar Noe.

The film is about actress Beatrice Dalle trying to make a film about witches starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as she is trying to deal with the chaos in the production while she converses with Gainsbourg about witches. It is a film with a simple premise but there is not much plot as it plays into a production going into total chaos with an ending that is just insane in terms of its visuals. Noe’s script would feature text and quotes from filmmakers Carl Theodor Dreyer, Luis Bunuel, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder as it plays into the idea of film as art and their approach to telling the stories about witchcraft. Noe’s script also plays into Dalle and Gainsbourg’s friendship as it opens with them having a conversation while there are those who want to make sure that Dalle gets ousted from the film as it does play into elements of misogyny from her producer and a cinematographer. Even those acting with Gainsbourg are troubled by the production with Abbey Lee Kershaw feeling exploited by men who want to see her nude while another actor in Karl Glusman tries to get actors to onboard for his own project.

Noe’s direction is stylish where it opens with footage of Dreyer’s 1943 film Day of Wrath as it plays into the idea of witchcraft with text from Dreyer about what film should be as a form of art. It then cuts to a scene where it is shot in split-screen where Dalle and Gainsbourg are having a conversation as it is shot inside a studio set with hand-held cameras following the former as she walks through the sets that included a hand-held camcorder where a young man follows her every move. Notably as it plays into a producer trying to do whatever he can to see her fuck up as it is her own film. While Noe does use some wide shots including for the film’s climax, much of Noe’s direction emphasizes on close-up and medium shots with the hand-held cameras often moving around as tracking shots. Noe also plays to this element of chaos where everything does feel intrusive such as scenes of models including Kershaw getting dressed while they are in the nude as there’s a couple of men outside of the window getting a peep which upsets Kershaw.

The film’s climax relates to a scene that Dalle is trying to create which involves three witches being burned at the stake with Gainsbourg and Kershaw playing the witches. Noe would create this sense of tension that would emerge, and it is where the film’s final 10 minutes would be this moment that is terrifying. Before the film even begins, Noe would post a warning for people with epilepsy relating to what they will see as these final ten minutes are something that people with epilepsy should not watch. What happens is total chaos through flickering colors and images that is intense in its overall presentation. Even as its aftermath has this element of dark humor as it relates to a quote from one of the directors that Noe cites for this film. Overall, Noe crafts a disturbing yet entrancing film about two actresses trying to make a film about witchcraft and witch burnings.

Cinematographer Benoit Debie does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its array of lighting and flickering lights as it adds to the film’s visual look including some natural interior setting for the scenes at a fireplace where Dalle and Gainsbourg are conversing. Editor Jerome Pesnel does excellent work with the editing as it has some straightforward cuts to play into the suspense along with some jump-cuts for a few bits. Set decorator Samantha Benne does amazing work with the look of the sets in all its artificiality to create the mood of a film set. Sound editor Ken Yasumoto does superb work with the sound in playing up the atmosphere of the set where voices can be heard from afar as well as some of the overlapping dialogue. Music supervisors Steve Bouyer and Pascal Mayer do terrific work in creating film soundtrack that features a lot of music played on locations including classical and electronic music.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast include some notable small roles and appearances from Maxime Ruiz as the cinematographer who hates Dalle, Yannick Bono as the producer who is hoping to sabotage Dalle, Mica Arganarz as a stand-in for Gainsbourg, Felix Maritaud as an actor on set, Karl Glusman as himself trying to pitch a project for anyone interested, Clara 3000 as another actress on set, and Abbey Lee Kershaw as herself as someone starring in the film while also dealing with men leering at her when she’s nude. The performances of Beatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg as fictional versions of themselves are incredible with Dalle as an actress trying to make her first film as a director as she becomes overwhelmed with people trying to sabotage her as well as get her own ideas for her first directorial film. Gainsbourg is the more reserved of the two as someone trying to get ready for the role while also dealing with the chaos on set as well as her family life outside the set.

Lux Aeterna is a remarkable film by Gaspar Noe that features amazing leading performances from Beatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Along with its simple presentation, gorgeous photography, and sense of chaos as it relates to filmmaking and the idea of witchcraft. It is a film that is not for everyone other than anyone interested in the idea of what goes during a film shoot. Anyone who is epileptic however should not see this for the sake of their own health. In the end, Lux Aeterna is a marvelous film by Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Climax - Vortex (2021 film)

Related: Day of Wrath - The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2024

Vortex (2021 film)

 

Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Vortex is the story of a couple living out their final days as they deal with various health issues where they begin to drift apart. The film is an experimental psychological drama that explores an elderly couple as they deal with things beyond their control as well as embark on their own individual journeys into the afterlife. Starring Dario Argento, Francoise Lebrun, and Alex Lutz. Vortex is a haunting yet somber film from Gaspar Noe.

The film is the simple story of the final days of an elderly couple as they both cope with health issues as well as their deteriorating conditions along with the fact that they’re drifting apart. It is a film that follows the lives of this couple as they spend their days together with the husband (Dario Argento) is finishing up a book about films and dreams while his wife (Francoise Lebrun) is tending to the home having retired from her work as a psychologist. Yet, a recent event where she was supposed to go to the pharmacy only to get lost at a market raises concerns among other things as it is clear the wife is suffering from dementia while the husband is dealing with heart issues. Adding to the chaos are incidents relating to the wife’s dementia that only makes the husband go into panic mode as their son Stephane (Alex Lutz) would make a few visits with his own son Kiki (Kylian Dheret). Gaspar Noe’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative yet he would do something on a visual level that would make the story far more unconventional.

Noe’s direction opens with the husband and wife having a lunch at their Parisian apartment balcony as they look outside and relax as it then cuts to a performance of Francoise Hardy singing Mon Amie la Rose as it plays into this blissful feel as it is shot on full-frame ratio and it then goes into a 2:40:1 widescreen aspect ratio after 7 minutes where the screen suddenly splits into two. Much of the action that occurs between the couple separately takes place in real time as well as their own individual activities with the husband often talking on the phone to a publisher or lamenting his thoughts on a former lover in Claire (Corrine Bruand). During a moment when he’s on the phone, the wife is crushing pills for some medication for him to take though Stephane suggests that she’s trying to poison him as there’s a lot of ambiguity into what she is doing or does she really know what she’s doing.

Much of Noe’s direction utilizes largely some long shots as well as close-ups and medium shots to maintain a sense of intimacy including a conversation between the husband, wife, and son over an incident involving the oven. It’s a scene that goes on for minutes yet the camera never moves in its two different angles as it is shot on real time where Noe plays into this growing deterioration between the husband and wife. It adds to this minimalist approach that Noe does in order to capture a family coming undone as it is often told through perspective of the husband and wife. In the film’s third act, it also goes into Stephane’s perspective as someone who is struggling raising his own son as well as having his own problems that prevents from being there for his parents. Its third act is expected in what Noe explores in these final days of this couple yet its final images are more startling into a life that was once so vibrant and loving only to deteriorate due to things beyond their control. Overall, Noe crafts a heartbreaking yet intoxicating film about the final days of an elderly couple.

Cinematographer Benoit Debie does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it aims for a naturalistic look for many of its interior settings at night as well as some exterior scenes at night where Debie aims for something straightforward rather than something stylish. Editor Denis Bedlow does amazing work with the editing in its unconventional usage of jump-cuts to help bring some abrupt rhythms to some long shots as well as give the film an offbeat pace in some parts of the film. Production designer Jean Rabasse, with set decorator Nathalie Roubaud and art director Anna Prat, does excellent work with the look of the apartment that the old couple live in that is filled with books, film posters, video tapes, and all sorts of things as it is messy yet is full of life. Costume designer Corrine Burand does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely casual that also include the robes that the elderly couple wears and a few other bits that play into the world they’re in.

Visual effects supervisor Pierre Buffin does nice work with a lot of the film’s minimal visual effects with the scene of the screen splitting into two being a key moment along with a few bits of set-dressing for some of the long shots. Sound editor Ken Yasumoto does superb work with the sound in maintaining a low-key and naturalistic atmosphere in the apartment as well as how music is heard from a stereo or from a location outside of the apartment. Music supervisors Steve Bouyer and Pascal Mayer do wonderful work with the film’s soundtrack that is largely a mix of music ranging from electronic pieces, indie rock cuts, score music from films including a few by Ennio Morricone, and a song from Francoise Hardy as much of the film’s music is presented on location.

The film’s remarkable ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Corrine Bruand as a former lover of the husband whom he meets at a dinner with other writers, Kamel Benchemekh as an attorney that appears late in the film, Nathalie Roubaud as a junkie that Stephane meets, and Kylian Dheret as Stephane’s son Kiki. Alex Lutz is excellent as the son Stephane as a man who is trying to help his parents though he is also someone struggling to maintain his own finances and such as well as doing what he can to help his parents. Finally, there’s the duo of Dario Argento and Francoise Lebrun in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as the unnamed husband and wife. Argento brings this sense of awareness of a man that realizes something isn’t right as well as coping with his own health while Lebrun has this sense of wonderment of a woman who doesn’t know what she is doing as well as having trouble remembering due to her growing dementia. Argento and Lebrun bring in a chemistry that is key to the film as a couple who love each other but are both increasingly ill with the old man dealing with his health and the old woman unsure of who this man is as they are the highlight of the film.

Vortex is a sensational film from Gaspar Noe that features great leading performances from Dario Argento and Francoise Lebrun. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, somber visuals, its minimalist approach to storytelling, and unconventional presentation. It is a film that doesn’t aim for melodrama in favor of something far more eerie in its exploration of a couple’s final days as it also plays into this idea of death looming and there’s no way to avoid it. In the end, Vortex is a phenomenal film from Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Climax - Lux Aeterna – The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2023

2022 Cannes Marathon: Climax

 

(Winner of the Art Cinema Award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival)

Written, directed, and co-edited by Gaspar Noe, Climax is the story of a dance troupe who hold a party following days of rehearsal as the party becomes chaotic due to a bowl of sangria laced with LSD. The film is a whimsical horror film set inside an abandoned building in 1996 where this dance troupe deal with the images of what they see as well as their reaction towards what they had taken. Starring Sophia Boutella, Kiddy Smile, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub, Claude Gajan Maull, Giselle Palmer, Taylor Kastle, and Thea Carla Schott. Climax is a rapturous yet terrifying film from Gaspar Noe.

Based on a real-life event in the 1990s where a dance troupe had an after-party where they all unknowingly drank sangria spiked with LSD, the film is about an event where this dance troupe are in a building having a party following a successful rehearsal where things do go wrong following their reaction over what they had drank. That is pretty much what the film is about as Gaspar Noe doesn’t aim for a traditional structure as the film opens with someone crawling out of the building into the snow bleeding and screaming as it then cuts to a bunch of dancers talking and showing who they are from an old VHS tape. Then the first half begins with the dancers doing their routine and finishing it leading to this party where everyone dances and talks to each other while they’re drinking sangria unaware that it’s laced with LSD. The second half is about its effects and all of the chaos that happens throughout as there’s not much plot that goes on where Noe just leave everything happening as it is which gives the story a sense of looseness.

Noe’s direction is definitely stylish as it is shot largely on location in an abandoned school in Paris in the span of 15 days where he utilizes a lot of long takes and intricate tracking shots. The film’s opening dance number is shot in the span of 12 minutes with five minutes of it in a single static wide-medium shot as it showcases the attention to detail in the dancing. With the help of choreographer Nina McNeely, Noe would know when to move the camera to capture the dancing whether it would be in a wide shot or in a medium shot as well as one moment where a dancer gets to have their moment as it is shot from above with the camera only spinning around to capture the dancing. It is among these moments in the first half of the film that also include these little moments and small conversations between some of the dancers that add to the sense of chaos into the film as it does feel energetic and lively.

During a scene where everyone is dancing in the middle of the film, credits appear for the cast and creators of the film as if one part of the film is over as it leads to the second half where things get darker. Notably as the camera movement gets more jarring and stylized where it follows everyone as they all get under the influence of what they have drunk with a few who haven’t drank the sangria becoming the suspects. Yet, Noe would keep things unbroken for a long time with some invisible cutting that he and co-editor Denis Bedlow would do to keep things on-going as it adds to this air of disarray. Even as there’s elements of violence where Noe and Bedlow would create some edits that are intense while continuing to be an unbroken shot while there are also elements that are shocking. The film’s finale is a somber one as it play into all of those involved but also some revelations about those who survived or those who had a bad trip. Overall, Noe crafts a gripping and unsettling film about a party that goes to hell because of spiked sangria.

Cinematographer Benoit Debie does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on colorful lighting as well as using low-key and available lighting in which much of the film is shot inside the building where he maintains a mood for scenes whether they’re dramatic or horrifying. Production designer Jean Rabasse, with set decorator Jessy Kupperman and art director Philippe Prat, does amazing work with the look of the dance hall in the building as well as the hallway and some of the rooms the characters go to dance or to act out in their drugged state. Costume designer Frederic Cambier does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely casual with some style to represent many of the individuals involved in the film.

The visual effects work of Alexis Baillia, Rodolphe Chabrier, and Mac Guff Line do excellent work with the visual effects as it is largely set-dressing to create the invisible cuts for some of the long tracking shots. Sound editor Ken Yasumoto does superb work with the sound in the way music is heard from the speakers from afar or up close as well as how the dialogues are mixed as it is a highlight of the film. Music supervisors Steve Bouyer and Pascal Mayer create an incredible music soundtrack that features a wide mix of music from M/A/R/R/S, Gary Numan, Chris Carter, Marc Cerrone, Patrick Hernandez, Lil’ Louis, Dopplereffekt, Kiddy Smile with Crookers, Thomas Bangalter, Neon, Suburban Knights, Daft Punk, Aphex Twin, Soft Cell, Wild Planet, Cosey Fanni Tutti and CoH, and an instrumental version of the Rolling Stones’ Angie.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast largely feature mostly non-actors and real-life dancers with the exception of a few professional actors. Among the people in the film include Sarah Belala as the dancer Jennifer who often does cocaine and refuses to share it, Alexandre Moreau as crunk-dancer known as Cyborg, Vince Galliot Cumant as a young boy named Tito who is the son of a dancer in Emmanuelle, Claude Gajan Maull as the dancer Emmanuelle who is also the troupe manager that is accused of spiking the sangria, Adrien Sissoko as a teetotaler in Omar who gets accused of spiking the sangria, Lea Vlamos as Eva who deals with the chaos of the violence as it relates to someone who didn’t drink the sangria, Mounia Nassangar as the volatile Dom who would act violently towards someone due to the spiked sangria, Thea Carla Schott as the German dancer Psyche who would act erratic due to the spiked sangria, Giselle Palmer and Taylor Kastle in their respective roles as the siblings Gazelle and Taylor, Sharleen Temple as Ivana who sports an afro of sorts as she is troubled by the spiked sangria, and Kiddy Smile as the dee-jay Daddy who would also drink the sangria unaware of its effects.

Romain Guillermic is excellent as David as a boyfriend of Gazelle who is eager to have sex with anyone while also becomes a suspect. Souheila Yacoub is brilliant as Lou as a dancer who didn’t drink the sangria as she is in the early stages of her pregnancy which also makes her a suspect. Finally, there’s Sofia Boutella in an incredible performance as Selva as one of the lead dancers who also drinks the sangria as she deals with a lot of things while also expressing herself physically as it is definitely a top-tier performance from Boutella.

Climax is a spectacular film from Gaspar Noe. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a killer music soundtrack, dazzling visuals, and its unconventional take of a simple premise and turning it on its head. It is a film that might be Noe’s most accessible film in terms of playing with a genre yet it also this air of danger and provocation that Noe is known. In the end, Climax is a tremendous film from Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Lux Aeterna – Vortex (2021 film) – The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2022

Love (2015 film)

Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Love is the story of a film student who copes with the fallout of an affair he had with another woman as well as the dissolution of a relationship he holds dear to his heart. The film is a raw exploration into the idea of love told in a fascinating style that blurs the line into the realm of pornography and art. Starring Karl Glusman, Klara Kristin, Deborah Revy, Isabelle Nicouf, and Aomi Muyock. Love is a provocative yet exhilarating film from Gaspar Noe.

The film plays into a young man who reflects on his life with a young woman he loved dearly while coping with the affair that ended their relationship as he has a child with that woman whom he’s become not fond of. It’s a film with a simple premise where this young film student named Murphy (Karl Glusman) doesn’t just deal with the life he has as a parent and husband but also the life he had before where he receives word that his former girlfriend Electra (Aomi Muyock) has disappeared. For Murphy, he doesn’t look into the life he had with Electra but also why it fell apart through a series of events.

Gaspar Noe’s script has a very offbeat narrative where its first act is about Murphy dealing with the news about Electra where he looks back at the events of their break-up but also how a simple menage-a-trois with a young woman named Omi (Klara Kristin) would be the catalyst for the end. The second act plays into life with Electra through the good and bad times while the third act would play into reasons into their dissolution but also how they met. The narrative is largely told from Murphy‘s perspective that features a lot of voice-over narration where he deals with his actions.

Noe’s direction is quite stylish in terms of the world he creates as it is shot on location in Paris. Yet, it is also restrained in terms of the compositions he creates where it doesn’t just involve some tracking shots and some long takes. Noe’s approach to framing in terms of the medium and wide shots not only play into how much Murphy and Electra love each other but also the intensity of their love. With the usage of the steadicam to follow the characters or to capture places they go to, Noe makes it very evident that these people who are in love and were willing to display that. Even as they would dabble in drugs and all sorts of things where they would also find ways to test their commitments such as attending an orgy or do other things. It is as if Noe wanted to create these places out of a sense of temptation where Murphy and Electra are willing to push themselves to see how it can fall apart.

Then there’s the film’s sexual content where it makes not qualms that it’s going for realism where the actors do have realistic sex in the film as the film opens with Murphy and Electra each giving themselves hand jobs until one of them cums. Noe obviously makes it aware that he’s blurring the lines into what is pornography and what is art. On the surface, the idea that a film like this that features oral sex, anal sex, orgies, penetration, and ejaculation would bear the hallmarks of what is pornography. Yet, since the film is a love story. The sex displays not just the intensity of Murphy and Electra’s love for each other but also in how sex can be destructive as it relates to what Murphy would do in a simple sexual act with Omi. Noe’s approach to close-ups and how he would frame Murphy behind his head to display his own faults as a man showcase someone who would cope with the mistakes he makes. Especially as it is showcases the concept of love in its simplicity and complexities as well as how crucial sex is in the world of love. Overall, Noe creates a very visceral yet dazzling film about love at its most primal.

Cinematographer Benoit Debie does incredible work with the film‘s cinematography with its array of colored lights and moods to play into the world of the clubs and some of the places the characters go to as well as some naturalistic lighting for some of the scenes as the photography is one of the film‘s highlights. Editors Gaspar Noe and Denis Bedlow do excellent work with the editing with its stylish approach to jump-cuts and blinking cuts as it play into the sense of memory and the reflective approach to the narrative. Production designer Samantha Benne and art director Virginie Verdeaux do amazing work with the set design from the look of the clubs and some of the places Murphy and Electra go to as well as the apartment Murphy lives in as it features nods to a couple of films by Noe.

Visual effects supervisor Pierre Buffin do terrific work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects that includes some of the moments captured on 3D that would involve some of the film‘s explicit moments. Sound editor Ken Yasumoto does brilliant work with the sound for its many sound textures in the mixing and creating an atmosphere in some of the scenes set in clubs and such along with the intimate moments in the film. Music supervisor Pascal Meyer does a fantastic job with the film‘s music as he creates a very diverse collection of music that features contributions from Pink Floyd, Funkadelic, Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, Death in Vegas, Coil, Brian Eno, John Frusciante, Salem, Glenn Gould, John Carpenter, Goblin, and Sebastian along with classical music pieces from Johann Sebastian Bach and Erik Satie.

The film’s superb cast includes some notable appearances from Juan Saavedra as Murphy and Electra’s drug dealer friend Julio, Isabelle Nicouf as Electra’s mother Nora, Ugo Fox as Murphy’s son Gaspar, Deborah Revy as an actress named Paula that Murphy meets at a party, and Gaspar Noe as an art gallery owner Electra used to be with. Klara Kristin is wonderful as Murphy’s wife Omi as the woman he would impregnate as she starts off as this young student that Murphy and Electra have an interest with only to become a woman that is unhappy married to Murphy. Aomi Muyock is radiant as Electra as this young art student who falls for Murphy while being someone that’s been in and out of love with men as she ponders if Murphy can be faithful while questioning her own commitment. Finally, there’s Karl Glusman in a remarkable performance as Murphy as this film student who is in love with Electra as he tries to hold on to her only to find ways to fuck it up as he later deals with the consequences of his own actions and copes with the life he has now.

Love is a phenomenal film from Gaspar Noe. Featuring a fantastic cast, gorgeous visuals, a mesmerizing premise, and a rapturous soundtrack. It’s a film that’s not afraid to be very visceral into the raw and primal nature that is love in many of its complexities. Especially as it isn’t afraid to be very explicit in its sexual content without the need to tease or sugarcoat it. In the end, Love is a spectacular film from Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Climax (2018 film) - Lux Aeterna - Vortex (2021 film) - The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2015

The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

Among one of the most controversial filmmakers to emerge from the world of New French Extremity, Gaspar Noe is someone who isn’t afraid to push buttons nor afraid to push the limits of what to say in cinema. Though he doesn’t make films frequently due to the fact that few are willing to fund his films which are graphic and provocative. Even as he is willing to go into great detail into displaying explicit and, sometimes, realistic sex into films but also say something more about the world at its ugliest. At the same time, Noe is also willing to push the boundaries of cinema on a technical scale that shows that there’s a lot more to him than his persona as an enfant terrible.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 27, 1963, Noe was the son of one of Argentina’s most artistic figures in Luis Felipe Noe who was a famous writer, intellect, and artist. Through his father, Noe would discover all forms of art as cinema became his first love after seeing Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey at the age of 7. Noe would discover many films and filmmakers growing up as he would go to France to attend the Louis Lumiere College as he discovered a lot of films during that time. Among them was an Austrian serial killer film called Angst by Gerald Kargl where its usage of violence and terror excited Noe. After graduating from college, Noe would spend much of the mid-to-late 80s honing his craft as a filmmaker while working as an assistant director projects based in France and Argentina.

More can be seen here at Cinema Axis.

© thevoid99 2015

Carne (1991 film)

Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Carne is the story of a butcher who is trying to raise his mute daughter by himself as he is tempted by ideas of incest. The film is a prequel of sorts to the 1998 film I Stand Alone as it plays into a butcher trying to live a simple life despite his own hatred towards the rest of the world. Starring Philippe Nahon, Blandine Lenoir, Frankye Pain, and Helene Testud. Carne is an eerie and entrancing short film from Gaspar Noe.

The film revolves the life of a butcher who is trying to raise his daughter while running a butcher shop that serves horse meat. It’s a short film that plays into this unnamed butcher (Philippe Nahon) who has been raising his daughter (Blandine Lenoir) all by himself after his wife left just days after the baby was born. Much of the film is told through inner-monologue where the butcher copes with raising his daughter as she is grown into a teen as he becomes attracted to her. It plays into a man’s inner struggle as well as his views on the world as he keeps to himself and do his work until an incident involving his daughter changes everything. One of which involved an innocent man and other moments that would force the butcher to re-think things in his life as he would get involved into a troubled relationship with a barmaid (Frankye Pain).

Gaspar Noe’s direction is quite simple in terms of compositions but it is also quite extreme in the way he captures some of these intense moments such as the butcher bathing his daughter and drying her body that is definitely creepy. Noe’s approach to close-ups and how he places the camera part of a person’s face is shown plays into how out of step these characters are with the rest of the world. Noe’s usage of zoom lenses for the close-ups are very eerie as it has an abrupt feel to it as it plays into the butcher being confronted by his surroundings. Noe’s usage of low-angles are also mesmerizing to capture not just a man dealing with the changes in his life but also how a mistake would only force him to confront these new realities. Even as Noe would feature graphic depiction of a horse being killed and other things to play into the world of the butcher and how it would differ from the reality around him. Overall, Noe creates a discomforting yet captivating film about a man trying to live a simple life despite his circumstances.

Cinematographer Dominique Colin does excellent work with the film‘s very vibrant yet sepia-based photography that plays into the graininess of the 16mm film stock as well as do great work in capturing the color of red with great detail. Editor Lucile Hadzihalilovic does superb work with the editing to create some unique rhythm and dazzling cuts to play into the intensity of the drama. The sound work of Olivier Le Vacon is fantastic as it features sound effects for some of the transitions and close-ups while capturing some of its sparse moments including the digetic music in the film that features a song by Umberto Tozzi.

The film’s brilliant cast includes a notable small performance from Helene Testud as a maid who looks after the butcher’s daughter while Frankye Pain is wonderful as the demanding barmaid whom the butcher would be with. Blandine Lenoir is amazing as the butcher’s daughter Cynthia as it’s this very silent and entrancing performance that mostly has her watching TV and look very sad as if she has no clue about the world around her. Finally, there’s Philippe Nahon in a phenomenal performance as the butcher as he does a lot of great work with his internal monologues as well as giving a restrained performance as someone that is just trying not to get angry.

Carne is a dark yet riveting short film from Gaspar Noe that features an incredible performance from Philippe Nahon. The film isn’t just a fascinating prequel to I Stand Alone but also a very fascinating short film that plays into a man coming undone by a simple mistake as he was just trying to protect the only thing he loves. In the end, Carne is a remarkable film from Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Climax (2018 film) - Lux Aeterna - Vortex (2021 film) - The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2015

2015 Cannes Marathon: I Stand Alone

(Winner of the International Critic’s Week Award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Seul contre tous (I Stand Alone) is the story of a butcher whose life unravels through unemployment and rejection following an attempt to start all over. The film is a sequel/expanded version of Noe’s 1991 short film Carne that plays into the tumultuous life of an un-named butcher played by Philippe Nahon. Also starring Blandine Lenoir, Frankye Pain, and Martine Audrain. Seul contre tous is a dark yet intensely compelling film from Gaspar Noe.

Set in 1980 in Northern France, the film revolves an un-named butcher who tries to start over following years of being in prison, over accusations that he had raped his young and mute daughter, only to be rejected by the people that was supposed to help him as well as society. It’s a film that isn’t just about isolation but also a film that plays into a man who is trying to start a new life with his mistress and her mother as he hopes to open a butcher shop. Instead, things don’t go his way as he is forced to deal with changes in the world and other things as his attempts to conform would only have him become angry. Gaspar Noe’s script is quite simple as it plays into the butcher trying to return to the world but a world that has changed.

Yet, simple acts of being good would have him be misunderstood by his own mistress (Frankye Pain) who would treat him very cruelly. The only person in the butcher’s life that meant anything to him is his daughter Cynthia (Blandine Lenoir) as she has been institutionalized since the day when the butcher went to prison. The film’s first eight-to-ten minutes doesn’t just explain why the butcher went to prison but also about his own life as a child and as a young adult as it has been often marked tragedies and other events that prevented him from trying to fit in to what society wants. The film also has very provocative themes on the idea of morality and justice as the film begins with men talking about these ideas and how it often favors the rich as it plays into Noe’s own commentary about class.

Noe’s direction is quite stylish not just through his approach to close-ups and zoom lenses where they can abruptly go into extreme close-ups. With its usage of wide lenses and wide shots, Noe aims for something where it plays into a man who feels detached from society as he tries to be part of it. Noe’s usage of medium and wide shots to play into the butcher’s world and the sense of discomfort he has around his mistress and her mother would create the tension that would loom over the butcher. Adding to the story’s offbeat tone is the fact that it is largely told by the butcher in a voice-over narration where it’s really more internal monologue that plays into his frustration towards the world and people around him. Some of the dialogue that Noe would say has a lot of things that are quite extreme as even scenes of violence such as a moment where the butcher stands up and beats up his pregnant mistress is a very brutal moment. The idea of violence is very prevalent as its third act not only relates to the butcher finally wanting to lash out but also cope with a world that rejects him. Overall, Noe creates a very unsettling yet confrontational film about a man’s attempt to find redemption only to face loneliness in a cruel world.

Cinematographer Dominique Colin does excellent work with the film‘s sepia-drenched photography that is filled with bright red and yellow colors with elements of grain as it plays into the dark world that the butcher is in. Editors Gaspar Noe and Lucile Hadzihalilovic do brilliant work with the editing with its stylish cutting and abrupt approach to jump-cuts and transitions as it helps play into the film‘s confrontational tone. Special makeup work by Jean-Christophe Spadccini is terrific for the look of some of the characters including the butcher‘s mistress who looks quite grotesque. The sound work of Jean-Luc Audy, Valerie Deloof, Olivier Do Huu, and Olivier Le Vacon is fantastic to play into some of the transitions as well as some of the chaos that goes on in some of the film’s location. The film’s soundtrack features ambient music from Thierry Durbet and Bruno Alexiu as well as some classical pieces to play into the butcher’s struggles.

The film’s amazing cast features notable small roles from Zaven as a man talking about morality in the film’s opening scene, Gerard Ortega as a bar owner the butcher threatens, Alain Pierre as the bar owner’s son, Roland Gueridon as an old friend of the butcher who tries to get him work, and Martine Audrain as the mistress’ mother who takes advantage of the butcher’s attempt to be helpful. Frankye Pain is excellent as the butcher’s mistress who was supposed to be the woman who would support him in opening a butcher shop as she then takes advantage of him and treat him very cruelly. Blandine Lenoir is fantastic as the butcher’s daughter Cynthia as a traumatized mute who represents the rare form of innocence in the life of the butcher as she only appears in the film’s final moments. Finally, there’s Philippe Nahon in a riveting performance as the un-named butcher as a man trying to start over only to fall apart as he becomes angry and frustrated with the world as he brings a performance that is absolutely terrifying.

Seul contre tous is a remarkable film from Gaspar Noe that features a haunting performance from Philippe Nahon. The film is definitely not an easy one to watch in terms of its graphic language and themes but also for the fact that it plays into a man being pushed to the edge by society. In the end, Seul contre tous is a phenomenal film from Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Climax (2018 film) - Lux Aeterna - Vortex (2021 film) - The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2015

2013 Cannes Marathon: Enter the Void

(Played in Competition for the Palme d’Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Enter the Void is the story about an American drug dealer who is killed in Japan as he spends his afterlife watching his sister live her life. The film is an exploration into the world of death but also life itself where a dead man deals with his past as well as his sister’s future. Starring Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, and Cyril Roy. Enter the Void is a hallucinatory yet mind-bending trip of a film from Gaspar Noe.

The film is essentially a story of life and death in which an American drug dealer who lives in Tokyo with his sister as he gets killed during a deal gone wrong. The event would lead to all sorts of things as the man would spend part of his afterlife in an out-of-body experience where he not only watches his sister grieve but also look back on his entire life that is full of drama and tragedy which plays into the fragile bond he has with his sister. It’s a film that may have a simple story with little plot despite utilizing a three-act structure. Yet, it’s a story that is quite intriguing in not just the idea of death but also grief as the sister Linda (Paz de la Huerta) deals with this loss as she had already been through enough in her life where she and her brother Oscar (Nathaniel Brown) made this pact to be together to the end.

Instead, Oscar’s death would send Linda into a tailspin where Oscar would watch his life play out in the film’s second act as it would lead to some very telling moments in its third act. Oscar’s out-of-body experience relates to his interest in the Buddhist book The Tibetan Book of the Dead where what happens him after death has him lurking around his surroundings where he looks for something to inhabit as if he believes in reincarnation.

The direction of Gaspar Noe is very hypnotic in not just the way he presents Tokyo but also everything else where he does play into this style where it is shot in continuous take with the exception of the second act where Oscar looks back on his entire life. With all of these stylish shots that is told from Oscar’s point-of-view, the camera is always showing things as if he’s looking at something including what happens to him after death. There, the camera is often flying over the city of Tokyo where it looks down on what is happening and how the world is moving on without him. While there are these fast blinks that does happen in the film’s first and second act which does often happen continuously, it becomes much more continuous in its third act where Oscar is flying over the city looking above.

The city of Tokyo itself is a character but it’s presented in this very lavish and colorful world as if it is presented with this air of psychedelia and surrealism where the colors are much more heightened. Notably as Noe would include some insert shots of Tokyo being shot from above as well as some very intense yet entrancing visual effects sequences that plays into Oscar’s drug-induced state or coming into the afterlife. These sequences are definitely help to tell the story as well as the idea of life and death. Especially in the latter where time doesn’t exist where Oscar watches things from afar including all of these moments that includes some sexually-explicit content that is stylized as well as moments that play into the emotional turmoil that Linda is going through. Overall, Noe creates a very evocative yet sensational film about life and death.

Cinematographer Benoit Debie does brilliant work with the film‘s very colorful and extravagant cinematography with its use of colorful lights to heighten the world of Tokyo as well as creating moods that are surrealistic but also stylized. Editors Gaspar Noe, Marc Boucrot, and Jerome Pesnel do amazing work with the editing by creating a sense of texture through the continuous approach of the editing while using some unconventional jump-cuts for the film‘s second act montage. Production designers Jean-Andre Carriere and Kikuo Ohta do fantastic work with the set pieces from the apartments, strip clubs, and other places along with some of the models of Tokyo.

Costume designer Nicoletta Massone does wonderful work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with the exception of the clothes that Linda wears. Visual effects supervisor Geoffrey Niquet and visual effects designer Pierre Buffin do phenomenal work with the visual effects that play into that sense of surrealism from the hallucinogenic images to some of the scenes of Tokyo. Sound designer Ken Yasumoto does superb work with the sound to create that sense of tense atmosphere in the clubs where layers of sounds clash as well as scenes set in Tokyo. The film’s music by Thomas Bangalter is great for its soundtrack that is filled with a mixture of high-octane dance music with some ambient pieces as it is presented in a sound collage that features acts like Coil, Throbbing Gristle, LFO, and Johann Sebastian Bach.

The casting by Lisa Mae Fincannon, Des Hamilton, Barbara Pfister, and Kathryn Taylor is excellent as it features some notable small roles from Emily Alyn Lind and Jesse Kuhn as the adolescent versions of Linda and Oscar, Janice Beliveau-Sicotte as their mother, Masato Tanno as Linda’s boss Mario, Ed Spear as Oscar’s supplier Bruno, and Olly Alexander as one of Oscar’s customers in Victor. Cyril Roy is terrific as Oscar’s artist friend Alex who is the one person in Oscar’s life that is any good as he also tries to help out Linda. Nathaniel Brown is amazing as Oscar who deals with his own death while wandering around Tokyo as a man seeking a soul to inhabit. Paz de la Huerta is wonderful as Linda as a woman ravaged by loss as she is trying to deal with her loneliness as well as the tragedy of her life.

Enter the Void is an outstanding film from Gaspar Noe. The film is truly unlike anything that is out there in terms of its technical brilliance as well as it’s very compelling approach on the idea of life and death. It’s also a film that plays like one big-ass mind-fuck that won’t stop while seducing the audience with its extremely sensational images. Though it’s not for everyone including those with epilepsy, it’s definitely a bold yet ambitious statement about the concept of life and death. In the end, Enter the Void is a magnificent film from Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Love (2015 film) - Climax (2018 film) - Lux Aeterna - Vortex (2021 film) - The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2013

2011 Cannes Marathon: Irreversible

(Premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, in Competition for the Palme D’or)

Written, shot, edited, and directed by Gaspar Noe, Irreversible tells the story of a man and his best friend seeking revenge against the man who raped his girlfriend. Told in reverse chronology, it is considered to be one of the most controversial films ever made as it features explicit sexual and violent content. Starring Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Albert Dupontel, and Jo Prestia. Irreversible is a shocking yet captivating film from Gaspar Noe.

It’s a night of celebration as a couple named Marcus (Vincent Cassel) and Alex (Monica Bellucci) are to meet with their friend Pierre (Albert Dupontel) for a party. Things go well at the party as Pierre likes to watch Alex dance while Marcus is acting very wild. Alex leaves the party to go home as she walks to an underpass as she encounters a man (Jo Prestia) beating a woman (Jara-Millo) as he turns his attention towards Alex. Alex is raped and beaten as Marcus and Pierre later find her as Marcus seeks revenge.

The film’s plot is about a couple and a friend going out to a party, the lady leaves only to be beaten and rape by a man as her boyfriend seeks revenge. In a traditional narrative, that makes the story not very engaging as there is an idea of what is going to happen. When it’s told in reverse chronology, that’s when that premise becomes not just very interesting but also tragic. Yet, the film doesn’t start out with this main storyline as it opens with a man from Gaspar Noe’s previous film I Stand Alone known as the butcher (Philippe Nahon) talking with another man about his own crimes as well as a philosophical discussion about time.

This would lead to scenes where the aftermath of all of the revenge happens as it leads to transitions of scenes that follow Marcus’ yearning for revenge to the brutal rape/beating of Alex, and the party they were just in. Yet, the film’s penultimate scene is Marcus and Alex getting ready that includes something that makes Alex’s incident more heartbreaking. Noe’s script is filled with lots of dialogue that recalls Alex and Marcus’ relationship along with warnings and such that would play up to everything that happens as if there’s a sense of foreboding.

Yet, the script really serves as a guide to Noe’s direction as he and co-cinematographer Benoit Debie create something that is dizzying and hypnotic. Shot in 16mm with colorful lights throughout the entirety of the film, Noe creates a film where the camera is always moving as if he’s shooting a lot of it in one take. Yet, the transitions between the many scenes are shot on walls or ceilings where there’s a lot of invisible cutting throughout the film. Some of it through digital imagery with some visual effects to make it seem like the entire film is shot in one take. The camera angles and long tracking and crane shots make the film much more surreal and entrancing in its imagery.

Then there’s the film’s rape scene which is shot in a single take with no edits that is truly the most confrontational and shocking moment on the film. Through that moment when the rape is happening, the camera remains still while during that entire sequence as it rarely moves. It’s Noe being confrontational where the aftermath of that rape is even more disturbing as the beating as the combination of sound and performance makes it feel so real. The overall presentation of the film itself in its dizzying yet chilling presentation with colorful photography and a non-linear storyline that is told in reverse chronology is truly a great piece of art.

Production designer Alain Juteau does an excellent job with the look of Marcus and Alex‘s apartment along with the party they‘re at and the infamous tunnel passageway for the brutal rape scene. Costume designer Laure Culkovic does a great job with the look of Alex‘s party dress along with the casual clothes that the men wear. Visual effects supervisor Rodolphe Chabrier does a very good job with the minimal visual effects used in the film such as the swirling transitions between scenes and digital imaging to make the film look as if it‘s shot on one entire take.

Sound designers Jean-Luc Audy, Marc Boucrot, and Cyril Holtz do a fantastic job with the sound from the atmosphere of the parties and cities to the intimate but horrifying sound of the rape scene that include mixes to create something very disturbing. The film’s score by Daft Punk’s Thomas Banglater is brilliant for its hypnotic presentation along with mood pieces that play up the intensity of what is happening. Banglater’s score is a highlight of the film where at one moment, it can be cool and soothing but other times very dark. The soundtrack also includes a couple of classical pieces by Gustav Mahler and Ludwig Van Beethoven and a couple of pop pieces by Etienne Daho and Andre Bezu.

The casting by Jacques Grant is superb as it features appearances from Philippe Nahon as a man from Noe’s previous film I Stand Alone along with Mourad Khimaand and Hellal as a couple of men who offer to help Marcus in his revenge, and Jara-Millo as a hooker that is being harassed in the tunnel. Jo Prestia is very good as the man who rapes Alex in the way he makes himself brutal and someone that audiences want to see get beaten up. Albert Dupontel is excellent as Pierre, the friend who also serves as the conscious in the film of sorts as he tries to make Marcus be reasonable while being the great friend to Alex.

Vincent Cassell is great as Marcus, a man who is fun and excited while being immature only to become vengeful. It’s mesmerizing role from Cassell who plays up a man who had been manipulated and troubled by what happened to his girlfriend while also providing that he might be at fault for what happened. Monica Bellucci is amazing as Alex, a sensual woman who is very fun and exciting only to become a victim of a brutal beating and rape. Bellucci, who is truly one of the most beautiful women out there, brings something that we all know but the idea of her being in a situation like that is horrifying. Yet, there is something fearless in that performance as it’s one of her finest work to date.

The 2003 Region 1 DVD from Lions Gate Entertainment presents the film in 16x9 widescreen for its 2:35:1 aspect ratio with French 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound with English and Spanish subtitles. Among the special features on the DVD include the film’s theatrical trailer, three minutes worth of teaser trailers from France that include six 30-second clips and one one-minute clip along with a twenty-five second trailer clip for the film’s soundtrack. Other trailers from Lions Gate include James Foley’s Confidence, Mondays in the Sun starring Javier Bardem, and Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen.

Two deleted scenes appear in the DVD that includes a four-and-a-half minute scene of the camera moving around the dark tunnel to the frenetic music of Thomas Banglater that’s called “Stress”. The second called “Outrage” which is a four-minute, twenty second scene of a camera moving around during the apartment party scene as it swirls around to the drone-pulsating film score.

The last big special feature is a making of the film’s special effects. The seven-minute featurette has visual effects supervisor Rodolphe Chabrier discuss how many of the transitions were made including a couple of key violent scenes where they had to do various takes to match the same shots. Some of which featured props that were later added digitally while they also used rotoscoping for one of the film’s violent moments as the visual effects took a lot of work with the small budget that was given. While it’s an excellent DVD, it’s one that needed more in what is expected with a lot of films in recent years as far as DVD releases are concerned.

Irreversible is a provocative yet disturbing film from Gaspar Noe featuring eerie performances from Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, and Albert Dupontel. Mainstream audiences who are used to conventional narrative and more traditional ideas of sex and violence should not see this film as it is very challenging and confrontational. Audiences interested in the work of Gaspar Noe as well as the New French Extremity movement will see this as essential viewing. It is a disgusting film yet one that challenges its audience about the way human nature is pushed in shocking events. Irreversible is a film that represents all of ideas of what cinema is and should be as far as challenging ideas is concerned.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Climax (2018 film) - Lux Aeterna - Vortex (2021 film) - The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2011