The latest film of Noë is pretty hard work to watch! The beginning is great with the most insane opening titles I ever saw and then there is a scene with Oscar smoking something, having a psychedelic trip, which is wonderfully done. Pretty soon it becomes clear, though, that Noë uses constantly moving cameras, from handycam views, so high-and-low flying twisting and turning stretched shots (towards the end even with effects). After about 5 minutes my stomach was upside down and I developped a pounding headache and that did not go away (it still did not!). With such a tiring view, 2,5 hours is way too long. Moreover, the visual spectacle completely overrides the drama in the film, even two extremely devastating scenes towards the end had no effect on me whatsover. Besides the sickening camera work, Noë stuffed his film with filmographic experimentations. Extremely bright and extremely much neon, computerised drug-tripping scenes, Lynch-like light-and-dark and close-ups, out-of-focus shots and almost no music, but just Throbbing Gristle and Coil’s constant rumbling. The story is of a brother and sister living in Tokyo flushing down the drain of the sex and drug scene. A heavy story that is ingeniously told in flashbacks interwoven with the present and with dreams. Paz de la Huerta gives all playing Linda; a fragile part that goes from sexy shots in the appartment to stripclub-, sex- and even an abortion scene. The story is not too original, but well-told, the experimental montage is very interesting, but the unsteady camera makes me to discourage you to watch this film on the big screen. A very interesting film, but I do not like the physical reactions…
