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Irreversible
Irréversible
de/by Gaspar Noé
France - 2002 - Drame/Drama - 99 mn - V.O sous-titrée anglais/French with English subtitles
Réalisateur/Director: Gaspar Noé
Avec/With: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon
Scén/Script: Gaspar Noé
Photography/Cinematography: Benoît Debie
Mus.: Thomas Bangalter
Prod.: Christophe Rossignon, Richard Grandpierre
Société Prod./Prod.co: Nord-Ouest Production, Eskwad
Coprod.: StudioCanal, Les Cinémas de la Zone
Ventes à l'étranger/World sales: Wild Bunch - Exception
Prix/Awards: Festival international du Film de Stockholm 2002, Prix du Meilleur film-Cheval de Bronze ; sélectionné au Festival international du Film de Cannes 2002 en compétition officielle/ 2002 International Stockholm Film Festival, Bronze Horse for Best Film; 2002 International Cannes Film Festival, official selection.
 A young woman leaves her fiancé and her former boyfriend behind at a party. On the way home, she is raped by a stranger. Her fiancé decides to avenge her, whilst her former boyfriend tries to calm her down before in turn yielding to violence...
Une jeune femme quitte une soirée où elle laisse son fiancé et son ex. Sur le chemin, elle se fait violer par un inconnu. Alors que son copain décide de la venger, son ex va tenter de le calmer, avant de céder lui-même à la violence...
Director Gaspar Noé has never shied away from controversy, and there is no doubt that Irréversible is one of the most uncompromising and disturbing films in recent history. This is not for the faint-hearted: it's extremely violent and features a long and unsettling rape scene. That said, these grim, troubling moments aren't used for exploitative purposes, but are situated within a carefully constructed narrative and provide extreme contrast to other moments of totally different tone and mood. Real-life couple Monica Belucci and Vincent Cassel can only be applauded for their boldness in consenting to appear in a film as confronting as this.
Noé leapt to prominence with his first full-length feature, I Stand Alone. Now, in Irréversible, he has pulled out all the stops. It is difficult to describe this film without destroying its shock value; any synopsis or description risks taking away the key role that the audience plays in unraveling (and imagining) the narrative. To read about its story structure in advance denies the satisfaction of seeing where the film leads its audience.
 Regardless of whether one hates or loves the film - and there is no doubt that it will divide people - it forces those who are prepared to meet its challenge to confront, not only their own reactions to it (it's completely manipulative in a way that recalls Hitchcock), but also to place it in a much wider context. Genet, Céline and even Dante come to mind as Noé's inspirations, either explicit or unconscious.
Irréversible is also a film that must be viewed in the context of current realities of global violence. Is this a post-September 11 film? Perhaps. It certainly deals with the hows and whys of violence in a manner that is extremely serious and deserving of attention, though many may find its shocking images too harsh. Noé is unafraid of taking his film to extremes - both in terms of its darkness and of the light he finds there. The performances are equally powerful.
Irréversible should not be viewed by anyone sensitive to strong depictions of sex and violence.
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Gaspar Noé
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French Director, Actor, Editor, Producer, Screenwriter
Born in Argentina, Gaspar Noé spent his childhood in Buenos Aires and New York. He arrived in France at the age of 12. After studying philosophy and cinema at the Louis Lumière School in Paris, Gaspar Noé began making short films in the 1980's, most prominently Tintarella di Luna and Pulpe Amère
In 1991, he founded his own production company, Les Cinémas de la Zone, with his real life partner, Lucile Hadzihalilovic. He then directed a medium-length film, Carne, the story of a butcher who raises his mentally-retarded daughter alone. The film was awarded both the Prize at Critics Week and the " Mention du Prix de la Jeunesse " at the Cannes Film Festival.
He then set out to make Carne into a feature film but struggled to finance the project. Instead he made La Bouche de Jean-Pierre, directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic. Thanks to the financial support of designer Agnès B., he eventually managed to finish Stand Alone, the sequel to Carne, in which the butcher, having lost his job, finds refuge in hatred and violence. Screened at Cannes in 1998, this film caused scandal because of its ideological ambiguity.
In 2002, Noé shocked audiences again with Irreversible, also screened in the official competition at Cannes, and in which the starring couple, Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci, play a pair confronted with rape and cold-blooded vengeance. |
Réalisateur, Acteur, Monteur, Producteur, Scénariste français
Né en Argentine, Gaspar Noé passe son enfance entre Buenos Aires et New York. A l'âge de 12 ans, il arrive en France. Après des études de philosophie et de cinéma à l'Ecole Louis-Lumière de Paris, Gaspar Noé réalise ses premiers courts-métrages dans les années 80 : Tintarella di luna et Pulpe amère.
En 1991, il crée sa propre société de production, Les Cinémas de la zone, avec sa compagne Lucile Hadzihalilovic. Il réalise alors le moyen-métrage Carne, l'histoire d'un boucher qui élève seul sa fille handicapée mentale. Le film obtient le Prix de la Semaine de la Critique et la Mention du Prix de la Jeunesse au Festival de Cannes.
Il tente alors de produire une version longue de ce film sans pourtant parvenir à réunir les fonds nécessaires. C'est alors qu'il entreprend la production de La Bouche de Jean-Pierre, réalisé par Lucile Hadzihalilovic. Grâce à l'aide financière de la styliste Agnès B., il parvient néanmoins à achever Seul contre tous, la suite de l'errance de ce boucher qui a désormais perdu son travail et va se réfugier dans la haine et la violence. Présenté à Cannes en 1998, le film fait scandale par son ambiguïté idéologique.
En 2002, Noé choque à nouveau avec Irréversible, également présenté en compétition officielle à Cannes, dans lequel le couple star Vincent Cassel et Monica Bellucci campe un couple confronté au viol et à la vengeance froide et sauvage. |
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