Carne (1991)
Dir: Gaspar Noé
IMDb:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218871/
Having now seen all his films (in backwards order), I can say Gaspar Noe rides a fine line between excess and high art - but he is very interesting filmmaker. His films are graphically violent, feature rape and extreme pessimism. I still hold that Irreversible is the best of his films, simply because of the incredible visuals (but the theme is great as well), but I Stand Alone, and it's prelude, Carne, are also excellent. I probably should have seen Carne first, since it kind of segues directly into I Stand Alone, but they are both interesting in their own respects. The copy I viewed had poorly translated subtitles that were missing a few lines, but I don't think it really harmed my viewing experience too much, especially since this is a relatively hard film to find with english subs.
Noe creates a great unsettling atmosphere with the direct voiceovers and trademark brownish-orange visuals in these two films, and its an interesting look at both the inner workings of a worn-out man who has lead a relatively uninteresting life, and the nature of violence in our lifes - a theme that is less emphasized here than his later work, but is prominent nonetheless. I feel Noe is great for making us confront violence in a context that makes us feel uncomfortable, which is how one should feel. I feel that violence should not be sugar-coated, especially in films that claim to deal with it in explicit terms.
Interesting here is how Noe warns the viewer that the film they are viewing contains scenes of explicit violence, and then in the very next scene a horse is killed, before the viewer could even have a chance to turn off the film or turn away if he/she felt that they did not wish to see such scenes. I think it's bit courageous to force the viewer to confront violence in the manner he does. I also feel like Noe is channelling Godard a bit in both Carne and I Stand Alone, with the use of titlecards in the film to make a direct statement, and the quick loud sounds that accompany a change of scenery.
IMDb:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218871/
Having now seen all his films (in backwards order), I can say Gaspar Noe rides a fine line between excess and high art - but he is very interesting filmmaker. His films are graphically violent, feature rape and extreme pessimism. I still hold that Irreversible is the best of his films, simply because of the incredible visuals (but the theme is great as well), but I Stand Alone, and it's prelude, Carne, are also excellent. I probably should have seen Carne first, since it kind of segues directly into I Stand Alone, but they are both interesting in their own respects. The copy I viewed had poorly translated subtitles that were missing a few lines, but I don't think it really harmed my viewing experience too much, especially since this is a relatively hard film to find with english subs.
Noe creates a great unsettling atmosphere with the direct voiceovers and trademark brownish-orange visuals in these two films, and its an interesting look at both the inner workings of a worn-out man who has lead a relatively uninteresting life, and the nature of violence in our lifes - a theme that is less emphasized here than his later work, but is prominent nonetheless. I feel Noe is great for making us confront violence in a context that makes us feel uncomfortable, which is how one should feel. I feel that violence should not be sugar-coated, especially in films that claim to deal with it in explicit terms.
Interesting here is how Noe warns the viewer that the film they are viewing contains scenes of explicit violence, and then in the very next scene a horse is killed, before the viewer could even have a chance to turn off the film or turn away if he/she felt that they did not wish to see such scenes. I think it's bit courageous to force the viewer to confront violence in the manner he does. I also feel like Noe is channelling Godard a bit in both Carne and I Stand Alone, with the use of titlecards in the film to make a direct statement, and the quick loud sounds that accompany a change of scenery.
posted by will at
6:26 PM
