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TrixRabbi
Aug 20, 2010

Time for a little robot chauvinism!



That's about the closest this film gets to having a safe-for-work poster.

Love is the fourth feature film from Argentinian-born French director Gaspar Noé, most famous for his feel-good romps Irreversible and Enter the Void. The film made headlines at Cannes for it's frequent depiction of unsimulated sex, all rendered in stunning 3D. It's been released to mixed reviews, but having just come back from it I can't get the movie out of my head. As much as it is artporn, it's also a fascinating look at relationships, male aggression and chauvinism, self-destructive behavior, and the intersection of love and sex.

The film tells the story of Murphy (Karl Glusman), an American living in Paris with his partner Omi (Klara Kristin) with whom he has a son. He wakes up one day, hungover, trapped in a relationship with a woman he hates and a child he fears could never respect him. His day is shaken when he receives a voicemail from his ex-girlfriend's mother stating she hasn't been heard from in months. From there we see, in non-linear fashion, the memories of the relationship between Murphy and his true love Electra (Aomi Muyock). We learn how they broke up because he cheated on her with Omi, getting her pregnant. We see them from their first date to their various kinky sexual encounters and the numerous fights and infidelities they suffered over the course of their relationship. And of course we get a lot of extended, passionate, hardcore, unprotected sex.

Love comes out in the wake of another cinematic provocateur's controversial sex epic - Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac. But where Noé's film differs is that while some of the sex is emotionally upsetting, much of it is truly passionate. Von Trier uses sex as a metaphor for addiction, depression, and self-loathing. Noé truly understands the raw passion that comes in lovemaking.

Many famous directors have gotten their hands on 3D technology and done fascinating things with it beyond the gimmicky "throw things at the audience" (Although, Noé couldn't resist having a cum shot go straight into the lens). Scorsese made Hugo where he likened the tech to the early days of cinema where audiences believed a train truly was going to pop out of the screen and hit them. Godard made Goodbye the Language where he stretched 3D to it's limits by deconstructing and experimenting. But Noé's film is intimate, and the 3D helps the viewer to feel the intimacy.

Murphy is frequently trapped in small rooms, with the backgrounds out of focus. The 3D is intended for us to feel the person in front of us on the screen. We see the human body in a new light, all of the breathing and twitches in tact. In ordinary scenes the characters pop to the forefront, the emptiness of the world around them more pronounced.

The sex is the selling point, but this is a story about people. It's imperfect, with a wooden lead and some weak narration, but if you can look past it's flaws you'll find a very raw, emotional story of human destruction and collapse.

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Martman
Nov 20, 2006

Enter the Void was painful and exhausting. How does it compare?

TrixRabbi
Aug 20, 2010

Time for a little robot chauvinism!

Martman posted:

Enter the Void was painful and exhausting. How does it compare?

I actually haven't seen any of his other films, I just know their reputation. I will say it's not necessarily exhausting or draining, just somber. There's some intense scenes but nothing that particularly wrecked me. It has however stayed with me and I've been thinking about it a lot, which is why I wanted to make this thread. If it's playing near you I probably wouldn't bring a first date, but it gives you a lot to think about.

Cacator
Aug 6, 2005

You're quite good at turning me on.

Here's my review from the GenChat thread:

Cacator posted:

I saw Gaspar Noe's Love (in 3D!!!) last night and the more I think about it the more I like it. Despite having graphic hardcore sex it's somehow the least offensive of his movies as you can walk away feeling dirty but not like you've had your life sucked out of your eyes. The 3D has a couple gimmicky moments in not one but two ejaculation-towards-the-camera scenes but at the same time it's well used in nightclub or street scenes (I would kill to see Enter the Void in 3D if I wasn't sure it would give me brain damage after). He also gives the sex scenes an almost painterly feeling by framing it from above and it's probably the classiest way you can film that kind of thing, the soundtrack is pretty good which helps. Acting is inconsistent and dialogue is hammy but the actors have chemistry. Oh and Gaspar Noe very obviously inserts himself and his career into the movie but it's funnier to see that unfold than to write about it.

Edit: The guy next to me in the theatre was fidgeting a lot and that made me uncomfortable.

TrixRabbi
Aug 20, 2010

Time for a little robot chauvinism!

So I watched Enter the Void last night and I really was not a massive fan. It's long, repetitive, and the consistent flashing lights were making me nauseous. Felt more about the drugs than the spirituality, although I admire the skill that had to go into composing a film like that.

I'd say Love, although Noe obviously employs similar tricks and motifs, is much more character-driven and a much more human piece. Certainly not exhausting in the same manner.

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Punkin Spunkin
Jan 1, 2010
Irreversible, I Stand Alone, and Enter the Void are definitely films I'm into. I mean they're all painful and horrific in various ways and I wouldn't want to rewatch any of them really, but I have to admire and respect Noe's skill and ability as a director and his unique potent style.
I'd been looking forward to this for a while since he takes so long to make a new film, but I'd been kind of worried by some of the mixed reviews it'd gotten compared to Enter the Void so it's good to hear some people who hadn't watched his other films being into this.

Apparently it might be too late for me to catch a 3D showing of this in the US though? Opened October 30th and I'm in SoCal, maybe I can coax some friends into getting :420: and seeing this. Is it already out of theaters? I don't see poo poo in L.A. :(

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