Archamedes 10 Posted April 19, 2010 (edited) I have always wanted to see films that leave the viewer emotionally involved or affected by what they saw in the film, but i have never really seen a drama/thriller/horror that really left an impact on me until now. I was just recommended a film by a friend of mine all he said was "its the most offensive uncomfortable and violent film you have probably ever seen." That was all i had to work with. I eventually got it and its called "irreversible." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290673/ (read other comments on there, most are horrified to have seen it) It was released in 2002 and the only real star i could recognise was monica bellucci (matrix and tears of the sun.) Its set in france and is all in french (but with english subtitles.) The strange thing is the film is set backwards kind of like pulp fiction. Each scene ends and the next one starts before the previous scene started. However this edit made the film even more powerful because all the horror starts at the beginning and the end of the film is the lead up to it and its very strange but works because you understand why the violence is so fierce and kind of justified. It was named as the sole film of 5 years running that people walked out during its showing. Here is what makes it offensive. There is a very graphic fight scene at the beginning that is so realistic the clip was actually used as a viral claiming to be a real video. The second thing is the violently graphic never ending rape scene that lasts up to 20 minutes without a break, interruption or even a single camera cut. (spoilers) The dude who gets his head pounded and eventually crushed to a pulp by a fire extinguisher and you do not see the cut or how they even accomplished the effect was done using VERY high quality digital fx and hardened critics say its very difficult to watch. Then theres the arm snapping backwards glassing in the face it all took place in the space of 5 minutes. The most disturbing part of this film is seeing in a full uncut graphical manor is monica bellucci being raped and beaten beyond recognition and having her head slammed into the pavement repeatedly afterwards. Now i have a very strong stomach and even this scene was VERY difficult and uncomfortable to watch for me. But it was weird because alough i wanted to look away i also didn't want to miss anything if that makes sense. However the film doesn't tame down anything it is probably in fact a brutal eye opener of the violent world we live in, say for instance hollywood likes to cut away or change the scene when things get unpleasent. This film sticks with it in full view of the camera a bit like being a witness to a violent beating of someone in the street. You are caught right in the action and see everything. The camera holds still for a full 15 minutes of the rape scene without any interruptions or cuts and you feel like you are held down at knifepoint and forced to watch. There is even full visible sex scenes going on in the film too, like i said nothing is cut or avoided to please the board of classification. Great camera work, sound design, character development, story structure are all elements that make Irreversible a memorable, intelligent film. Some scenes can last up to 15 minutes without a single cut or camera change and this is genius. For instance the camera follows the characters as they walk down the street, down the subway, on the subay train, stays with them for 4 stops while they engage in conversation, then as they leave and onto a street in a new location, this all one one take. But yeah, be warned - not for the faint of heart. It stays with you, so the big question is Should you watch Irreversible? No, not if you're looking for a happy all-action thriller where everyone shoots each other but nobody dies, the videogame reality of most films/TV. Yes, if you want to see an interesting construct well acted and have a strong constitution. As mentioned, you cannot 'unsee' the film, so choose wisely. some interesting film facts based on irreversible (possible spoilers again) Newsweek stated that this was the most walked out of movie of the year. The first 30 minutes of the film has a background noise with a frequency of 28Hz (low frequency, almost inaudible), similar to the noise produced by an earthquake. In humans, it causes nausea, sickness and vertigo. It was the main cause of people walking out of the theaters during the first part of the film in places like Cannes and San Sebastian. In fact, it was added with the purpose of getting this reaction. The blood on Bellucci's face towards the end of the rape scene was added digitally afterwards, as were the smashed-face effects in the club fight scene. The rapist's genitals, seen after the rape, were added digitally. Monica Bellucci and Jo Prestia completed six takes of the rape scene over two nights. Bellucci claimed the first take was actually the easiest to do, since on subsequent takes she had a heightened awareness of what was going to happen and had to prevent this from interfering with her characterization. The "Rectum" was in fact a genuine ghey S&M club in Paris. The crew changed the name, redressed the set and added red lighting. The club was spread across the basements of three separate buildings and was so cavernous and confusing that many of the crewmembers became claustrophobic in it. There have been unconfirmed reports that some viewers have been left disturbed and one actually became triggered to violent sexual behaviour due to watching it. Edited April 19, 2010 by Archamedes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
max power 21 Posted April 19, 2010 (edited) I dunno. 'Martyrs' was pretty hardcore. I'll have to check this one out to compare. Edited April 19, 2010 by Max Power Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sic-disaster 311 Posted April 19, 2010 From the sounds of it, i'll pass. I cannot for the life of me watch a rape scene without getting very upset about it. It can literally stay with me for days as an unshakeable mood. Other violence, this is really weird, but when someone dies doesnt bother me as much, because for the victim it'll be over anyways. Not so for a rape victim. A prime example, i recently watched Cannibal Holocaust. The deaths of people were nothing too shocking, but the rape of several women, and the (genuine) killing of animals (especially the genuine animal killings) still stay with me. I can still picture that turtle being broken open and it's entrails being pulled out, and it made me want to hit the director in the face. In the end, a long story short: it just upsets me way, way too much. And that isnt very healthy for the sucky people on my school ;D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Archamedes 10 Posted April 19, 2010 Max Power said: I dunno. 'Martyrs' was pretty hardcore. oh i haven't seen that one can you explain why? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
max power 21 Posted April 19, 2010 Archamedes said: oh i haven't seen that one can you explain why? Very simply, it's a movie about kidnapping young women and raping and torturing them in such gruesome ways that they are so psychologically damaged that they have no connection to reality anymore. There's a series of ritual beating scenes that are pretty hard to watch, and a mass murder sequence... and then there's the whole skinning thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aeneas2020 10 Posted April 19, 2010 dunno seen it plenty of times and never thought it was that shocking tbh, i guess i've seen worse in real life. To be honest i think they made it out to be waaay more controversial just to help it sell a little better yeh the rape scene with monica belluci (however you spell it is pretty bad) it really isnt anything compared to some other movies out there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo 29 Posted April 19, 2010 Sounds thrilling, but there seems no real point to discussing random movies on here, I'm sure there are lots of great movie forums out there for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites