An octogenarian film critic, whose heart is fragile, sees the woman he loves, a psychiatrist suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, gradually wither away.
Posted at 9:30 a.m.
Recognized for his provocations,Irreversible to Climax Passing by Enter the VoidGaspar Noé completely changed his approach with Vortex, a film in which he is interested in the daily life of an old couple at the end of their life. Dedicating from the outset his new offering “to all those whose brain will decay before their heart”, the filmmaker offers a story that could be situated between The last engagementby Jean-Pierre Lefebvre, and Loveby Michael Haneke.
To do this, Gaspar Noé has chosen to take the time by borrowing the rhythm of life of octogenarians in their daily lives. As an introduction, it also allows itself to present in its entirety a clip by Françoise Hardy dating from the 1960s, in which the singer performs My friend the Rose. The filmmaker also uses the technique of split-screenwhich divides the screen in two, so that the two protagonists are constantly present in the image, even in scenes where they are in different places.
Having called upon two cinema icons, Françoise Lebrun (unforgettable in The mother and the whoreby Jean Eustache) and Dario Argento (the famous Italian filmmaker, leader of the cinema giallio, here holds his first major role as an actor), Gaspar Noé lingers to describe the daily degeneration, in the middle of an apartment too cluttered by the memories that this couple, made up of a psychiatrist and a a film critic, has accumulated over decades. Punctuated by a few visits from the only son (Alex Lutz), the story is entirely based on the improvisations of the three actors.
This too long film, where, very often, apparently “nothing” happens, is nevertheless crossed by very poignant moments. By slipping into the skin of her character with a hole in her memory, Françoise Lebrun offers a magnificent performance of subtlety and diffuse emotion.
Obviously, Vortex evokes a dreaded stage of life, as the harbinger of a great leap into the void, but Gaspar Noé has chosen to maintain his gaze at human level, without any psychologism or any complacency. He did well.
Showing this Friday
Drama
Vortex
Gaspar Noe
Starring Francoise Lebrun, Dario Argento, Alex Lutz
2:22 a.m.