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 Once again a film is touted as "the most horrible, shocking thing ever committed to film" and it turns out to be anything but. Sure this film is dark, nihilistic, gritty, disturbing but I wouldn't even place it in the top 5 most disturbing films I've ever seen.This is a very, very, very good movie though. The performances and direction were stellar and while the voice-over was an effective way of aiding the viewer in understanding the protagonist it was a tad annoying from time to time. Judging by the reactions of the other reviewers perhaps I'm a tad more desensitized than the average person so this film might be the most horrible thing you've ever seen. However, if you've seen Henry, Salo, Cannibal Holocaust, and other similar films I suspect you'll see this is more of a "very good" film than a "shockingly disturing" one.
Let's dissect the word protagonist for a moment. It can mean the principal This story is about an old man released from jail and attempting to live his What Noe seems to understand is that the world is not always black or white, Keep in mind that Noe is not an advocate for his dark characters, he is
All of Noıs films contain no more than 2 violent scenes but the rest of it is extremely oppressing (he and his wife use to argue about not falling into Truffaut clichıs) - and if the point is to shock the public, Iıve never seen it done in such an inteligent and pointful way. It has been said that his films are immoral and push people to immoral thoughts - I donıt think so. The situations are often extreme but their dark side is close to that of Peckinpahıs films: it is never gratuitous. Carne and I stand alone have both won the first prize at Cannes Semaine de la critique festival. And, by the way, there exists another dvd edition of I stand alone which contains Carne, various trailers, comments, critics and several transcriptions of the butcherıs thoughts. If you have liked this, donıt miss Noıs new film called Irreversible, presented this year (2002) at Cannes.
The extreme, extreme violence of this film is truly nauseating. And I say this as one who's studied cinematic violence of all sorts -- from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer to The Re-Animator, from The Killer to Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom, from Robocop to Maniac. But I dare say none of them evoked the incredibly negative response that I Stand Alone did. The body count is low, but the acts of violence are so extended, and so repulsive in their immorality, that they hit you like sledgehammer blows. This is the kind of film that would immediately get banned as a video nasty in the UK, and possibly get its director mobbed. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is the closest comparison I can draw. Man Bites Dog isn't nearly as bleak; Taxi Driver isn't as brutal or cold-blooded; and Maniac doesn't have one per cent of the brains. What I feel is a feature-length ode to hatred, to blind, inarticulate hatred for all things alive and dead, and ultimately to self. At the same time that I marvel at its ability to strike body blows and portray a reality (psychological and physical) this frightening, I can't say I really like this film. At times, the film lingers so long on the suffering of its characters and assimilates the viewpoint of its reprehensible protagonist so thoroughly that it becomes hard whether it's the character that's violent and detestable, or the film that so closely resembles him. If you like challenging cinema, it's definitely worth a look. But if you've ever cried or become sick because of a movie, think twice before you delve into this one. |
Gapar Noe is a great filmmaker. He is actually my new favorite Director and
You either have the guts to watch Noıs films or you donıt. People who donıt usually leave the cinema after 10 minutes and feel attacked for no reason. People who do are usually stunned. Nothing like this has ever been done.
