The movie Gaspar Noé calls an immense “visual rollercoaster”
Cinema has always had its provocateurs, from Jean Cocteau to Harmony Korine, pushing the boundaries of the medium or challenging the very definition of what film is. These filmmakers have routinely explored taboo themes that are typically excluded from Hollywood blockbusters, stunning audiences in the process. One of the 21st century’s most accomplished enfant terribles is Gaspar Noé, who made his shocking feature debut, the incest-themed I Stand Alone, in 1998.
However, it was Irréversible that really put Noé on the map, causing many people to walk out of its Cannes screening due to the inclusion of a chillingly realistic ten-minute rape scene. While many people criticise the movie as nothing more than 97 minutes of violence, particularly against women, others praise it for its unique presentation of form – the entire film plays out in reverse.
Throughout his career, Noé has received great praise for his innovative approach to visuals, which often elevates the content of his films, adding greater intensity to already tense subjects. Noé’s use of form often challenges the audience’s comfort, inviting the viewer to engage in an immersive cinematic experience that cannot be forgotten. By using strobing lights, split screens featuring multiple points of view, God’s eye view camera angles or long, continuous takes, Noé’s films force the audience to pay strict attention, even eliciting visceral reactions, such as headaches and nausea.
Unsurprisingly, Noé is partial to a film that uses unforgettable visuals, and in a 2014 interview for Bomb Magazine, he revealed his love for Alfonso Cuarón’s 2013 space film Gravity. The movie won Cuarón the Oscar for ‘Best Director’, alongside plenty of other accolades. It was heavily praised for its visuals, which looked incredibly – almost terrifying – realistic.
The movie stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as astronauts, with the former set for his final mission before entering retirement. Their mission takes a turn for the worse when an accident causes the destruction of their spacecraft, leaving them stuck floating in space. The film poses a terrifying concept that is enough to turn the most ambitious, thrill-seeking person off the idea of ever journeying into space (not that the opportunity comes knocking every day).
Noé explained: “The first two takes are around fifteen minutes each, but you’ve never seen such a visual rollercoaster inside a movie theater. Those opening takes are incredible, also because the background is all black and you really have a sense that you’re in space.”
He added: “The camera is spinning around the astronauts, and it’s all computer-generated imagery. The result is incredibly mind-fucking. Everything is fake, and it all looks so real!”
There’s no surprise that Noé loves the visually mind-bending film; he has also declared 2001: A Space Odyssey as one of his favourite movies. Gravity certainly bares inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s classic sci-fi epic, which is widely regarded as the benchmark for movies set in space. Space Odyssey is, more or less, a perfect film, yet, many critics were quick to call Gravity the best space movie since Kubrick released his magnum opus. It seems as though Noé would perhaps be inclined to agree.
