|
After
"Carne" and "I Stand Alone",
Franco-Argentine director Gaspar Noé is no stranger to controversy.
 |
|
"I had problems with the French critics,"
says Gaspar Noe |
But
even he could not foresee the furore that greeted "Irréversible",
an unsparing revenge drama starring husband and wife Vincent Cassel
and Monica Bellucci.
The
film caused an uproar at the Cannes Film Festival with its nine-minute
rape scene.
How
did the film come about?
I told Vincent [Cassel] I wanted to do a film like "In
the Realm of the Senses". Monica was starting "The
Matrix" sequel in September 2001, so there was very little
time. Because of their celebrity we found the money. The only condition
was we had to finish by the end of August. The budget was 20 times
my last film, but I only had six weeks to shoot it.
|
IRREVERSIBLE
COMPETITION
Congratulations to Oonagh MacInnes of Edinburgh, Bob Smith
of London EC1 and Alison Barlow of Ambergate, Derbyshire.
Each wins a signed poster and a copy of the soundtrack CD.
Sorry if you entered and didn't win - keep visiting our Film
section for more movie prizes and giveaways
|
Why
did you tell the story in reverse chronological order?
Very few movies deal with non-linear narratives, and they are much
more interesting to me. On the first day of shooting we did the
love scene, which is at the end of the film. Strangely, it was this
scene Monica and Vincent were most concerned about, not the rape.
The
film has been attacked for its violence. How do you react to that?
Violence is in life; it's part of human experience. I had problems
with the French critics, because they don't like seeing France portrayed
in this way. Interestingly though, most of the people who are offended
have not been women, but men.
So
what was it like making such a visceral film?
Going to work was like going to a party; I never knew what to expect.
You don't see the fun we had off screen. The only hard scene to
shoot was the party scene. We had to shoot it 20 times!
(Interview
by Neil Smith)/
See the official website:
Irreversible
the movie
(The
BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites)
Sorted out what to watch and what to dodge? Use our
Film Finder to find a screening near you |
|
More
information on all these movies at BBCi Films
click
here
All the week's new releases reviewed in
The Big Picture on Sundays on 94.9
Find out more
|
|
Listen live
Click
through amazing shots of London from high up in a helicopter!