Vortex 15

Those accustomed to the boundary-defying cinema of provocateur of French cinema, Gaspar Noé, may find his latest piece to be the biggest shocker of them all.

Uncovering tender new depths without forgoing the uncompromising fatalism that defines his work, Noé leads us through a handful of dark days in the lives of an elderly couple in Paris: a retired psychiatris (Françoise Lebrun) and a writer (Dario Argento) working on a book about the intersection of cinema and dreams. Using a split-screen effect, Noé follows them around their cramped apartment piled high with a lifetime of books and mementos, with two cameras – a bold aesthetic choice that both unites and isolates them. Noé leads the viewer into another downward spiral, but led by the astonishing performances of Lebrun, Argento, and Alex Lutz as their troubled grown son, he has created his most fragile and humane film yet.