Author Topic: Climax  (Read 1013 times)

Junior

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Climax
« on: March 15, 2019, 10:11:07 PM »


Climax

Though the early section where this queer ensemble of dancers perform a rather stunning routine would probably qualify as hitting 10 in most films, I am going to say it is about a 6 here. As they kick off the party after, that number starts creeping up. If it had only gone to an 8, it would seem rather a dream. A room of attractive youngsters, some mind altering substances, and some hormones. I am totally here for this rave/orgy to be. But it wouldn't be Noe if it stopped at 8, and in turning it up to 11, it becomes a living nightmare of illness, incoherence, jealousy and paranoia told in the most kinetic manner possible.
Looking to clarify, do you have a standout scene or moment, or was this a case where the entire experience was the best part for you? I'm making the early case for the first dance to be scene of the year, and I'm wanting to read where others felt Noe hit his peak. (Sofia Boutella's freakout is a possible highpoint, though it seemed to indebted to Isabelle Adjani in Possession. Putting a kid at the party, that's classic Noe.)

Benoît Debie also shot Spring Breakers

For me, the craziest part was the ten minutes that goes from the kid getting locked in the closet to the reveal of the pregnancy to the group pestering (to use the kindest possible term) her in the big dance area. I think that section also involved the hair getting caught on fire?
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Bondo

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Re: Climax
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2019, 04:55:50 AM »
I definitely back that opening dance sequence as a highlight, though I'd push it for shot rather than scene. I've always been in awe of the voguing dance technique that involves an extreme squat, mostly because I know if I tried it both my knees would immediately explode.

But it is such a dense film in some ways. Like you get that little glimpse in the background of Lea in the shower, attempting to wash off all the blood from the pregnant woman. And similarly you have the hair catching fire. Both of these huge dramatic things are simply background noise to the perspective being featured at the time. It can be frustrating because you sit there going "what the hell happened with the gal who caught fire" but you don't find out (until much later where you see the damage done). It is definitely a slightly elusive film. Like you get them going after the one guy, drawing a swastika on his forehead with lipstick, but I don't think we see him particularly doing anything to indicate he is a white supremacist.

I feel like I would be resistant to this type of vague storytelling in most instances, but Noe's style is so compelling that it gives me that thing to hold onto, even if I can't hold onto a clear thematic point.

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Re: Climax
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2019, 09:47:22 AM »
A moment that sticks with me is the woman on the stairs who starts cutting herself, very effectively staged.

Anyone have anything to say about the one who spiked the punch? At first, I just shrugged because it didn't really matter or add anything, but as I thought back she was an instigator. I can't put it to words yet, but I think there's a connection between it being her and the way she's used in the dance scene. You don't notice her among the group until it's her moment and then she peels off a dress to reveal a really small bikini, so that even for a dancer her frame seems large and her body less toned. She then struts away from the group like a runway model, leaving them behind before breaking into her solo. It's kind of an antagonistically showboat move. Contrast that with the star, Sofia Boutella, whose solo is surrounded by the rest of the group moving with her, or the B-Boy who becomes a human puppet, manipulated by the other dancers.