Reversing Heaven

The only peaceful scene from Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible, Yet it brings hard truth to the rest of it’s misery.

The combination of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony (alegretto) and the  twirling predestined fate of Monica Bellucci’s character is astounding when put into context that the entire film plays each scene in reverse order (similar to Christopher Nolan’s Momento). The viewer finds a peaceful moment of rest in this beautiful park after already having been through experiencing how her day will end.

I won’t give anything away , but I must also SERIOUSLY WARN you NOT to see this film if you are disturbed by extremely dark and realistic content. Irreversible (France, 2002) contains graphic violence, graphic language, graphic adult content, strong sexual content, and pretty much everything else. The reason why I look beyond the gross parts is that Noe has a true talent of pulling the sugar shade off our eyes when it comes to the human condition. Why would we want to watch the downside of humanity? Because it is a part of our existence and it can’t be denied. In order to understand the lightness of being, we must face the dark and overcome it.

I also appreciate how original Noe’s style of filmmaking is. He wants you to become sick. He wants you to not valorize or eroticize these people. He wants you to feel good about who YOU are, as you are in your normal lives.

In an interview with Inside Out Film, Noe’s answer to his film is simple, “My aim was to make you feel out your minds”. Yeah totally. Made me not want to walk into strange places when in Paris.

Anyhow, here’s the official Cannes trailer if you’re interested: