In the contemporary film world, there is probably no personality as widely detested, who simultaneously revels in that fact and has built his career upon it, as is the case with Gaspar Noé. The French filmmaker of Argentine origin enjoys a reputation as one of the most famous "art" filmmakers, but he owes it primarily to having explored the boundaries of acceptable content on the big screen over the last few decades, in these supposedly relaxed and uninhibited postmodern times. The wider public knows him best for Irréversible, a 2002 film that is conceptually interesting yet filled with incredibly explicit depictions of violence and sex—or rather the combination of those two activities—whose late-night broadcast on some public television channels once provoked outrage even among the most liberal and open-minded commentators. Such reactions, it must be said, have never particularly troubled Noé, partly because he knows well that in his world, sometimes the worst publicity is the best, and partly because criticism, much like for the current occupant of the White House, only feeds his ego and allows him to continue on the same path.
Therefore, it is easy to imagine his great disappointment at last year's Cannes festival when only a handful of viewers walked out during the premiere of his latest film, Climax, and probably an even greater one when critics began showering him with praises for a "genius masterpiece" and a "brave artistic achievement"—the kind of reviews a run-of-the-mill art filmmaker might expect from them. The reason for this can partially be found in the fact that Climax, at least at first glance, represents one of Noé's most conventional and accessible films for a wider audience. This is evident from its genre, as it belongs to the musical, or rather dance film category, making it somewhat hard to expect much room for content-related excesses. The plot, allegedly inspired by real events at a French dance school, is set in 1996 and follows a young dance troupe preparing for a major tour of France and the USA. Its members, introduced via video interviews, embody all the ideals championed by advocates of diversity, at least concerning gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Yet, when under the careful guidance of their choreographer, they perform like a finely tuned instrument, delivering an exceptionally complex dance number that will leave many viewers awestruck. Had the film ended at that moment, it would have represented one of the best dance films of the 21st century. However, knowing Noé and judging by the prologue suggesting a rather unhappy resolution, more experienced viewers know it won't end there.
The real plot, in fact, begins after the dancers, who have spent three days intensely rehearsing in an isolated dance hall, decide to celebrate the end of their preparations with a casual party. And everything seems harmless at first glance, until some of them begin to feel unusually unwell, or start behaving strangely, concluding that someone has spiked the sangria with LSD or a similar drug. What follows is a "bad trip" that leads to paranoia, self-harm, physical and sexual abuse, and other (self-)destructive behaviours, with completely innocent children also becoming victims.
Noé masterfully directed the first half of the film, and it represents one of the most attractive and impressive achievements of his career. What follows, however, is a sort of combination of art-snob pretentiousness with equally irritating clichés seemingly borrowed from cheap 1980s slasher films, where you can't wait for some masked figure to introduce brash and stupid teenagers to alternative uses of farming tools. Matters are not helped by Noé deliberately directing the film from various "sick" angles, aiming to create as much confusion and nausea among viewers as possible, then serving them equally pretentious quasi-philosophical "gems" via on-screen text, just as his insistence on motifs of French national identity baits a hook for the usual SJW moral guardians to bite.
Perhaps the worst part for viewers will be that almost all characters are hollow, unrecognisable, and few will be likeable. Partly the reason for this is a lack of adequate acting talent, with only Sofia Boutella—whom viewers probably know best as the alien warrior Jaylah in Star Trek: Beyond—able to boast any serious experience. Because of this, half of Climax is torture for everyone except the most hardened veterans of art-house cinema, though perhaps those who are simultaneously fans of 1980s and 1990s electronic and dance music will fare best, given that Climax boasts a truly impressive soundtrack. Yet, when the film finally ends, and in a rather anti-climactic way, viewers will mostly be happy that the experience is over.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)
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