A couple reasons why I love Gaspar Noé:
1. Because of the opening credits of Enter the Void. I would like to make out with those opening credits. The whole film is brilliant and hallucinatory and unlike anything else I have ever seen, but those opening credits!
2. Because of the way he is promoting his new movie Love (a love story in 3-D), which will be shown at Cannes in a midnight screening. One quote from him about the film: “With my next film I hope guys will have erections and girls will get wet.”
You know, I’m sure many film-makers feel that way, but who comes out and says it? Gaspar Noé does, that’s who. I can’t wait to see it.
3. Have you read Kim Morgan on Gaspar Noé’s I Stand Alone? Among other things, she writes about people walking out of Noé films. His stuff is definitely not for the faint-hearted. I found Irreversible nearly unwatchable, and yet … I stuck it out. Terrified. His stuff is extremely confrontational. Morgan writes:
As my friend, writer Kent Adamson said, “The audience is as significant as Noé… The walkouts are part of the drama, and the lesson in humanity.” Indeed. It’s always more interesting to watch Noé on the big screen, with an audience. I’ve seen all of his pictures in the theater and find the reactions fascinating; multi-layered. I wonder about the walk-outs because they can’t all be for the same reason. As in, people can’t all simply be offended. Something else is going on. When I first saw Irreversible I was frightened I wouldn’t be able to handle the swirling camera and low level police siren spiked soundtrack. Would it induce a panic attack? It was more upsetting to me than the famous moment with Ms. Bellucci and I was clinging to a xanax. And then, I just lost myself in it. And then I wondered if that was healthy. And then I wondered about wondering — what does “healthy” even mean? And on it went. That experience, as with all of his films, was disturbing, enlightening and mysterious. Just more of the many reasons I love Noé… Anxiety can be good. You feel those nerve endings, your blood pumping. You feel alive.
