directed by Gaspar Noé
Gaspar, Gaspar, Gaspar… He’s a real mystery to me and I thought I already saw through him, but seems like I was wrong. If you expect, as I like calling it, a “WTF” film quite typical for him, then it’s definitely not “Vortex”. This time Gaspar Noé decided to sit down, have a cup of tea and express himself in a more intimate way, I’d say. We get to know a couple of elderly people (Françoise Lebrun & Dario Argento), who are living together in Paris. They are struggling with typical physical difficulties for their age, yet it seems like the woman’s dementia is their biggest problem. The man is no longer able to protect his wife as he also needs to take care of himself. He asks their adult son (Alex Lutz) to help them, yet the young man has his own life and issues to manage. And that’s it. That’s what the film is about. Pretty simple, right? Not for Noé. He doesn’t use cinema to cover the reality, quite the opposite. Using cinema, he makes us realise that our reality is even uglier and worse than we thought. In “Vortex” we have a chance to see what it’s like to be old, helpless, powerless and left with no expectations. What he presents in this film is the most horrible, yet the most common waiting for death. You may notice the film is incredibly slow, which in this case I find on point. To me, making everything take a lot of time shows how long old age lasts. How long people have to suffer before saying goodbye to this world. You may see that this film is full of real emotions, especially since Noé himself was dealing with his mother’s dementia and it surely impacted him as an artist. To me this film was incredibly touching, perhaps because of personal experiences, perhaps because Noé is a fantastic director, perhaps because he had a wonderful film crew. Everything in this film is real and hideous, but that’s why it’s so interesting. I’m very curious which way Noé will go next, but seems like he’s doing what he wants and needs, and I’m buying it.
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 