Cannes (AFP)
It does not look like a Gaspar Noé film, and yet his new feature film is the most serious and deep of the enfant terrible of cinema, so far adept at transgression: with "Vortex", a film about the end of life, we are light years away from the sulphurous atmospheres of which he has the secret.
Selected several times at Cannes, Gaspar Noé caused a sensation in 2002 with "Irréversible", a film starting at the end and telling a revenge after an unbearable rape shown for ten minutes on the screen.
During the preview, about twenty spectators were victims of discomfort.
In 2015, the French director had also caused a scandal with "Love" banned in theaters under 18 because of raw sex scenes and not simulated.
Three years ago, Gaspar Noé did it again with "Climax", bringing the viewer to the verge of vertigo with "a sticky and haunting story", he claimed: a private party which degenerates into absolute chaos.
The Argentinian filmmaker, who has lived in France since his childhood, is back with "Vortex", unveiled out of competition on Friday at Cannes Première in a midnight screening, a poignant film showing with the codes of the documentary the slow decrepitude of an elderly couple affected by the Alzheimer's disease.
The husband is played by the legendary Italian director Dario Argento (and father of Asia Argento), for the first time on the screen.
The actress Françoise Lebrun plays the wife.
Alex Lutz once again proves his ability to endorse all styles: he plays the couple's drug addict only son.
"For several years, I had wanted to talk about old age. I saw my grandparents grow old, lose their minds and die ... I saw my mother also in all these stages", confides to AFP Gaspar Noé.
"I also wanted to film something other than my bullshit with drugs and sex. The end of life is such a painful subject that it is still taboo, while in all families, parents lose their minds. It's very commonplace ... On the contrary, you have to show these things! ", considers the filmmaker.
As Gaspar Noé is used to, the synopsis of "Vortex" which will be released in theaters in 2022, can be summed up in a few strong words: "life is a short celebration that will quickly be forgotten".
"At 57, I may finally be entering adulthood a little. It was time ...", quips the director.
"I have made films that are scary, that make you hard or that make you laugh. + Vortex + makes you cry. The film probably refers to the void that surrounds us, and in which we float."
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