Irreversible (France, 2002)

At the premier of Irreversible at the Cannes Film Festival, 200 of 2,400 audience members walked out... and that is considered a compliment by director Gaspar Noe. For the first 30 minutes of the film, do you not only get to enjoy some motion sickness-inducing camera work but, also, the background noise is a frequency of 28Hz. While the frequency of 28Hz is barely audible to the human ear, it is linked with causing nausea and vertigo in human beings. The feeling of watching a film that is drunk with bed spins ebbs and flows throughout the entire film, never quite leaving, but certainly calming down and stopping well enough to allow the viewer to take in the story here.

The end of this film is definitely NOT for epileptics. If you are affected at any degree whatsoever by strobing lights, stay away. I'm not even joking in the least bit, if you can't handle strobes, are prone to motion sickness, like light-hearted romantic comedies, want your mommy, and don't like being visually punished by a film... stay away.

The most striking thing about this film for me isn't what it is notorious for (a 9-minute single shot anal rape scene), rather for what it does the whole film through. Nearly every scene in this film is single shot. This approach can make you forget that you are watching a movie (the subtitles seem like saviors from time to time, reminding you that it's a film). For instance; if you have not seen this film, but you read about it, then you all ready know about the notorious rape scene. Thing is, knowing that it's there doesn't the soften the blow. The camera spends a good 9 minutes stationary, causing you to get completely lost in the scene, so that when it finally moves you almost jump.

Wonderful acting, interesting direction, and the more you learn about the film (watch it first, then check out the trivia section over at imdb), the more impressive it seems. I liked this film a great deal, mostly for it's artistic merit. I don't know if the word "recommend" is suitable here, but it is certainly a film worth watching, a film you will never forget.