LOVE: Profile of Gaspar Noe

After decades of watching all kinds of traumatic films, I'm pretty desensitized. Not many filmmakers can make me squirm, or feel uneasy. In fact, it's a rare treat when I see something that throws me off balance. French filmmaker Gaspar Noe is a director who always surprises me. He seems to have no boundaries, no taboos - no limits!  And it's this sense of courage that makes him one of my favourites.
Noe is as badass a filmmaker as they come. He’s effortlessly controversial.  His films are fearless and confrontational. Not only this, but the way he moves a camera, the way the lighting/sets are designed, his films are beautifully hypnotic, as if being drawn into vortex (Enter the Void and Irreversible both have floating travelling shots).

His body of work has a cohesive and always evolving style. You can just tell you're watching a Noe film: Palpable tension, painterly frames, understated dialogue, touches of philosophy, his brash command of the soundscape, and cool as hell titles.

It’s no coincidence that Harmony Korrine hired Gaspar’s DOP Benoit Debie for the candy colored, gorgeously shot film Spring Breakers.

The last time Gaspar’s film played at TIF was the first person POV feature film Enter The Void (2009). This was not just a film, but a mind-altering experience! Check out the opening title sequence to get an idea of what I mean:

Approaching a Noe film, it’s difficult to know exactly what to expect.  He’s no stranger to horror either, with his deeply scarring film Irreversible (if you like labels: a great example of cinema of transgression)--which made waves with it’s brutal depiction of rape and revenge, in a story told backwards to great effect.

To say that he's all shock would be a misrepresentation.  Perhaps the most effective part of Irreversible's infamous rape scene (mild spoiler alert) was that an out of focus passerby stumbles upon it and witnesses the act for a few moments,  turns away, and LEAVES! It's subtle touches that take the overtly disturbing to a whole new level of emotional devastation.

The red world of Noe

This year Noe returns to the Vanguard program with the brazen Love, which, while I have been avoiding exact story information — is no doubt already controversial with it’s eye popping, unblinking sexual depictions, and word of mouth! Add to this, it's in 3D!

LOVE  Final Screening:
Thurs. Sept. 17, 6:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1

LOVE Premieres Tonight!

Grab your 3D glasses and recall your past affairs, because Gaspar Noé is back at TIFF and this time with Love. Well, he always brings love before but this time his Love is 3D. The sex, regret and longing are all 3D, too.

As Vanguard Programmer Jesse Wente writes:

Recalling classics such as Last Tango in Paris and recent works such as Nymph()maniac, Love brings a rare honesty to its portrayal of love and sex. This is Noé's most fearless and provocative film to date.

"Oh, god, he compared me implicitly to Brando. You got this. You can do it."

 
See all the beauty, awkwardness and regret of love tonight! 

LOVE Screening Times:

Tue, Sept 15, 8:45 PM RYERSON

Thurs, Sept 17, 6:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

LOVE: Arthouse Meets Pornhouse: Previous Explicit Art Films

In anticipation for Gaspar Noé's 3D film Love, which follows the encounters of a man, a woman and another woman, it only seemed appropriate to look back at some of our other favourite steamy art films.

Shame (2011) 

Directed by Academy award winner Steve McQueen, Shame follows Brandon (played by Michael Fassbender), a man in the depths of his sexual addiction while living alone in the city. When his confused young sister (Carey Mulligan) arrives for an indefinite stay, he is forced to address his issues.

Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Is there anything more notorious than the butter scene in Last Tango in Paris? Bertolucci's infamous film follows a young Parisian woman and an American businessman and their relationship based purely on sex. Last Tango is still talked about decades later by critics who often seem totally divided, but it still remains as one of the most referenced and debated films ever.

In the Realm of the Senses (1976) 

Realm is a re-telling of the circumstances involving Sada Abe, containing unsimulated sex scenes between many of the actors. Sada Abe works as a maid in a hotel, where she is violated by the owner. The two begin an affair that is rife with sexual experimentation, which ends in drastic violence.

Stranger by the Lake (2014)

Where to begin with the very provocative Stranger by the Lake? Following the affairs of Michel and Franck two men who frequent a cruising spot for young men, and featuring several scenes of unsimulated oral sex, this movie will make anybody blush.

LOVE screens:
Tue, Sept 15, 8:45 PM RYERSON
Thurs, Sept 17, 6:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

LOVE First Look: Poster and Trailer

The latest film from the infamously provocative Gaspar Noé is coming to Vanguard this September, and after checking out the viciously sexy poster and trailer, we can't wait to watch this tale of a man, a woman, and another woman.

Although variations on the poster are worthy of a blush and a giggle, this film promises to be a beautiful, poignant examination of sexuality. 

LOVE screens:

Tue, Sept 15, 8:45 PM RYERSON

Thurs, Sept 17, 6:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX