The camera spins as if out of control, but that's exactly where we are in the story. It has lost almost all control. Almost.
Most likely inspired by "Memento," the story is told in backwards chronology. The end credits are at the beginning of the film, the death of the villain is at the beginning of the film, but no worries, as this is not really a spoiler, it is merely what you are initially told. This is also a selling point, as horror fanatics will appreciate the brutality. The setting of this scene is meant to be, surely, upsetting as well.
As the film progresses, the characters become less and less anxious, and the camera becomes stiller. Time moves on, the climax has already happened. The arch of the film is what everybody would talk about. We are already introduced to the idea of what is about to happen, and we are told these things, not so much. We discover, as an audience.
Moments...prolonged takes (no cuts in the editing room)...puts us in the hyper-realism of the story.
Your worst fears are realized...and one of the most amazing actresses in one of her best scenes comes into play...and it's no play. It's not fun. It's not "everything" you wanted, because it's hardly acting.
This may be the scene that has me writing about the film. However, it is only because it really angered me. I've read that many audience members react in different ways. At the Cannes festival, 200 people walked out. I imagine people becoming sick over this. I was just angry.
I was expecting a similar feel in "The Human Centipede," however the badguy is quite the performer in that one, and its the idea that gets all the attention. That one was more Hitchcock, a psychologically demanding movie. This one was more Kubrick. A psychologically demanding emotional film. The main emotion here is anger.
Due to the subject matter, I gave this a 7. As upsetting as it was, due to the prolonged rape scene, it is one of the few films...in fact, the only movie I can remember repeating to myself "It's only a movie, it's only a movie..." A phrase you could see on the original "Last House on the Left" poster...quite an effective tagline for a film, however, I hated "Last House on the Left," and I hate the remake without even seeing it.
"Irreversible," however, is beautiful. Monica Bellucci is beautiful. Vincent Cassel is just as powerful. This can be classified under "art horror," as the director really tells the story as much as the events do...especially for a film with 10/15 minute scenes without editing, its hard for a director to do so much. He does, he does.
Gaspar Noe may be one of the greatest directors. I'm basing this on one film of his I have seen. An awfully predictable film, I imagined the story once the story got going. Here's the spoiler...a happy ending.
Satisfying? We'll get to that...
The meaning of the ending is as important as where the characters go after this one awful night. The commentary on rape and revenge is strong, and watching this with someone (it may be hard to find someone who wants to watch this, and it should be difficult) may surely spark some conversation. That's the draw of the film. The obsession.
People may watch again and again, looking for the similarities in the rape scene and the intimate love scene later in the movie. It's all predictable, but as I've always said: movies are especially predictable the second viewing.
The polarizing effect this film has had on audiences is where satisfaction. It's all about what you're telling yourself. This is the psychological effect that creates something to obsess over. Let me spoil the ending for you, because if you interpret it yourself, you might ruin it for yourself. The film is about what time does to us, and perhaps how memories should last a lifetime. What happens to everyone after this tragic night? Perhaps it is the last two moments of the film, but in the last moment of all, it's meant to make you sick...when it's really just a blank white screen becoming a strobe effect with a terrible sound effect. This is art...
...and it's only a movie...it's only a movie.
Hard to say I enjoyed it, though it calms down in the "end," and becomes enjoyable, and an intimate love story. Hard to say I'm going to watch it again. So does that merit a 10? 9? 8? 7 sounds good to me.
Most likely inspired by "Memento," the story is told in backwards chronology. The end credits are at the beginning of the film, the death of the villain is at the beginning of the film, but no worries, as this is not really a spoiler, it is merely what you are initially told. This is also a selling point, as horror fanatics will appreciate the brutality. The setting of this scene is meant to be, surely, upsetting as well.
As the film progresses, the characters become less and less anxious, and the camera becomes stiller. Time moves on, the climax has already happened. The arch of the film is what everybody would talk about. We are already introduced to the idea of what is about to happen, and we are told these things, not so much. We discover, as an audience.
Moments...prolonged takes (no cuts in the editing room)...puts us in the hyper-realism of the story.
Your worst fears are realized...and one of the most amazing actresses in one of her best scenes comes into play...and it's no play. It's not fun. It's not "everything" you wanted, because it's hardly acting.
This may be the scene that has me writing about the film. However, it is only because it really angered me. I've read that many audience members react in different ways. At the Cannes festival, 200 people walked out. I imagine people becoming sick over this. I was just angry.
I was expecting a similar feel in "The Human Centipede," however the badguy is quite the performer in that one, and its the idea that gets all the attention. That one was more Hitchcock, a psychologically demanding movie. This one was more Kubrick. A psychologically demanding emotional film. The main emotion here is anger.
Due to the subject matter, I gave this a 7. As upsetting as it was, due to the prolonged rape scene, it is one of the few films...in fact, the only movie I can remember repeating to myself "It's only a movie, it's only a movie..." A phrase you could see on the original "Last House on the Left" poster...quite an effective tagline for a film, however, I hated "Last House on the Left," and I hate the remake without even seeing it.
"Irreversible," however, is beautiful. Monica Bellucci is beautiful. Vincent Cassel is just as powerful. This can be classified under "art horror," as the director really tells the story as much as the events do...especially for a film with 10/15 minute scenes without editing, its hard for a director to do so much. He does, he does.
Gaspar Noe may be one of the greatest directors. I'm basing this on one film of his I have seen. An awfully predictable film, I imagined the story once the story got going. Here's the spoiler...a happy ending.
Satisfying? We'll get to that...
The meaning of the ending is as important as where the characters go after this one awful night. The commentary on rape and revenge is strong, and watching this with someone (it may be hard to find someone who wants to watch this, and it should be difficult) may surely spark some conversation. That's the draw of the film. The obsession.
People may watch again and again, looking for the similarities in the rape scene and the intimate love scene later in the movie. It's all predictable, but as I've always said: movies are especially predictable the second viewing.
The polarizing effect this film has had on audiences is where satisfaction. It's all about what you're telling yourself. This is the psychological effect that creates something to obsess over. Let me spoil the ending for you, because if you interpret it yourself, you might ruin it for yourself. The film is about what time does to us, and perhaps how memories should last a lifetime. What happens to everyone after this tragic night? Perhaps it is the last two moments of the film, but in the last moment of all, it's meant to make you sick...when it's really just a blank white screen becoming a strobe effect with a terrible sound effect. This is art...
...and it's only a movie...it's only a movie.
Hard to say I enjoyed it, though it calms down in the "end," and becomes enjoyable, and an intimate love story. Hard to say I'm going to watch it again. So does that merit a 10? 9? 8? 7 sounds good to me.