Living in as small a town as I do, the opportunities to see interesting foreign and indie films in a theatre setting are fairly limited. It is also sometimes difficult to find people to discus the merits of movies that attempt to do something different, whether it be through the use of imagery, sound, editing, casting or otherwise.
One of the most traumatic experiences I have ever had watching a movie came years ago when I picked up a copy of "Irreversible" by Gaspar Noe. I had read some press about it and people had certainly made a point of informing the reader that this was a tough movie to watch, both for the directorial style and the subject matter itself.
I have watched many films that have been described as "hard to watch" or "disturbing" and walked away affected, but certainly not shaken (there are a few exceptions to that statement though). Irreversible was, right from the opening credits, abrasive and disorienting. By the end of the film, not only was I shaken, I was shaking. It was a highly unpleasant experience, but this brings me to the point. After thinking upon the film for some time, I started to respect it in an odd way. The depictions of violence and rape in that film made me feel sick, as I think our natural reaction to such things ought to be. While certainly not enjoyable in any way, I was glad to have seen Irreversible one time and will never see it again.
It is difficult to discuss this with people who view film as simply a distraction or entertainment since experiences such as Irreversible do not fall into either of those categories. I certainly could not recommend to MOST people that they should sit down and watch Irreversible, I would not want to be responsible for the sort of emotional trauma that might result.
So, I recently watched Gaspar Noe's most recent film "Enter The Void". It is a nearly three hour long meditation on life and death, family bonds and also the results of ingesting lots of psychedelics. Not suprisingly, "Enter The Void" is also a very difficult film to watch. There is very little plot, very little structure and to be sure, there are some pretty graphic images. The film borders on tedium, but at the same time, managed to induce a feeling of disconnection and disorientation that was much like being on psychedelics.
I find myself pondering some of the images and motifs from the film which, much like Irreversible has definitely resulted in a reaction. Many people call Noe's movies exploitative, and I can certainly see where they are coming from. My gut reaction however is that these movies are more than sheer exploitation and shock. While I can't recommend watching any of Noe's films to people I know, I am certainly glad that they are out there. Whether one can appreciate the value in such films or not, surely someone doing something different with an artistic medium can't be a bad thing.
I have no idea whether anyone who reads this will have an opinion (and it certainly doesn't need to be tied to Noe's films) if you do, I would be interested to hear it.
