IRRÉVERSIBLE
In May 2002, Gaspar Noé’s Irréversible arrived at the Cannes Film Festival with all the force of a concrete wrecking ball. The Argentinean-born, French-raised director was already known for his confrontational brand of cinema after short film Carne and his prize-winning feature debut, I Stand Alone. But this backwards-playing revenge drama left reviewers shocked by the visceral scenes of violence [warning: spoilers ahead].
Many fled for the exits. “Film critics are sometimes forced to see movies they know they will dislike,” shrugs the mischievous 56-year-old Noé, when he meets Total Film almost two decades on. “When you go to Cannes, it’s like the World Cup. People are fighting for their flags. I went to see movies in Cannes and I was whistling because I had a friend who was in competition and I would whistle to destroy all the other movies!”
caused more than just a few jeers, though. “It’s easily the most controversial film of the year –, and , reputedly on the promise of making what Stanley Kubrick’s ‘should’ have been.
