Gaspar Noé doesn’t make movies so much as he films experiences.
I realize how corny that sounds, but how else to explain the director’s Irréversible, a movie that Roger Ebert called “so violent and cruel that most people will find it unwatchable” (he gave it three stars)? Or Love, with its unsimulated sex scenes? Or Climax, which makes a nightmare out of dancing and drug-laced drinks? You’ll never think of sangria the same way again.
Here’s the official plot synposis.
From director Gaspar Noé comes a hypnotic, hallucinatory, and ultimately hair-raising depiction of a party that descends into delirium over the course of one wintry night. In Climax, a troupe of young dancers gathers in a remote and empty school building to rehearse. Following an unforgettable opening performance lit by virtuoso cinematographer Benoît Debie and shot by Noé himself, the troupe begins an all-night celebration that turns nightmarish as the dancers discover they’ve been pounding cups of sangria laced with potent LSD. Tracking their journey from jubilation to chaos and full-fledged anarchy, Noé observes crushes, rivalries, and violence amid a collective psychedelic meltdown. Starring Sofia Boutella and a cast of professional dancers, Climax is Noé’s most brazen and visionary statement yet.
It’s about time Sofia Boutella, who was so good in Atomic Blonde, Star Trek Beyond, and Kingsman: The Secret Service, was given a starring role. Climax opens later this year.
