Irreversible and after the climax Gaspar Noe returns with Vortex with his shocking new film

Sensory and transgressive, Gaspar Noah’s films are known to leave no marble. With Vortex, the director offers his most personal work and continues to hit where it hurts. He shoots an elderly couple living in a small apartment in Paris and confirms their arrival in hell, between mental breakdown and loss of carrying.

Aging is a very important topic in cinema. Just remember the Frenchman Florian Zeller’s The Father, who brought Anthony Hopkins a second Oscar, but also Falling by Viggo Mortensen or another genre Relic by Natalie Erika James. Gaspar Noe, loyal to his reputation, handles this material in his own way. The drama that uses screen splitting draws strength from the realism of situations. The director follows his actors through total improvisation and numerous consistent shots.

To revive his two main characters, he brought together two movie giants: Françoise LeBron (Mother and prostitute) And Italian director Dario Argento, master of Jalo. Gaspar Noe is clear in his intentions: “I had already made movies that were horrible to be mad at or laughed at. This time I wanted to make a film that was as engaging as I could in life as it was in the movies.”

Successful bet. Violence Whirlpool Not as graphic as it is in his other feature films. He is silent and imposes himself when the couple rushes into a black hole that continues to absorb them. “I knew I wanted to tell a story about the end of a couple’s life. I saw similar situations with my grandparents, my motherExplains the film director AlloCineThe second day of the film screening at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, in July 2021.

“A life that falls apart is something generalizedHe continues. People are ashamed of it. It’s like a family secret. It is useful to show these survival mechanisms that work as soon as humans start having neurons that are no longer working.. ”

Anyway, with Gaspar Noah, I knew they weren’t going to beg me, I was a grandmother baking a yogurt cake.

In WhirlpoolDario Argento is signing his first role in his career. Usually, the director of Suspiria prefers to direct others. “Gaspar has been a friend since the day of his first attempt at cinema. When the film was offered to me, I said, “I’m not an actor, I’m a director.”He recalls. Then he came to Rome all day and persuaded me to do something neorealist. It was wonderful to be together, to confront each other, to improvise and to create this interpretation.. ”

For Gaspar Noah, “Dario is the beast of the scene“. “I said: “It is not my decision, I explained to you how to work, you know how to direct actors, you play your character. I trust you and he said to me: “Yes, I know!“, Recalls the film director.

The same state of mind on the side of Alex Lucy, who plays the role of a son. “I was very impressed with Darius when I wanted to go with him. I used this to build a father-son relationship. ” In front of the film director’s camera – the actor – known for his love of comedy and taste for transformation – plays the role of a young father lost in a labyrinth of drug addiction. “It is the epitome of emotional deprivation. I do comedy on stage, but I love to play dramatic roles in movies. ”

Françoise LeBron plays the most difficult character in the film. “I did not know Gaspar Noah’s films, but everything about his reputationHe admits. Anyway I knew with her that I was not asked by my grandmother who made yogurt cakes.. ” To prepare, the actor refuses to read a 15-page script. He prefers to look at documentaries and medical journals to understand cognitive issues.

Five weeks after filming, I felt as if I had gotten off a submarine. I lacked oxygen.

This role of the mother through which the drama takes place is inspired by that Gaspar Noe. “Later, during filming, he showed me what he had photographed with herRecalls Françoise LeBron. With this film I realized that no profile was alike. There is no user guide. Everybody builds their own degeneration. ”

The film was shot in full lock with about fifteen people in a narrow space – locked in an apartment. “It was very claustrophobicRecalls Gaspar Noe. Five weeks after filming, I felt as if I had gotten off a submarine. I lacked oxygen.The feeling that shines on the screen seems to close the walls of the apartment in front of the viewer. Dario Argento ends the interview with a smile: “It was a wonderful adventure that I will never do again. ”

Interview with Thomas Desrosch, Cannes, July 2021.

Whirlpool By Gaspar Noah, at the Cinema on April 13th.