User Reviews

(Mauro Lanari) Noé closes his trilogy on drug addiction ("It's a life among drugs. We're really almost slaves to drugs", words that will later take on their true metaphorical value: "Ageing or smack, which to choose?") with a further katabasis, that of a married couple who start the day toasting to life while sitting on their terrace in the morning light. They align with the statistical norm of not suffering agony simultaneously: she falls ill worse than him, and psychophysical care becomes unidirectional. It feels like Haneke's "Amour" (2012) stripped of conciliatory aestheticism or consoling sweetness (the dove taking flight when Anne dies, identical to Roy Batty's in the 1982 "Blade Runner": will we ever free ourselves from animism?). This time, the Argentine director seems to box himself into a dementia movie like any "The Father" (Zeller 2020), dissolving the universality of the message, at least until she throws her husband's book notes down the toilet, his "drug" along with the mistress who, after twenty years, is leaving him. "I don't throw away my past": a desire that's hit a dead end. Her Alzheimer's has even more devastating consequences for the husband's heart disease, and the circle closes, the screen's dividing line becomes continuous interaction: from agony, only more agony can be born. The ash-grey of the urns is the final non-place to inhabit. 7½

Thinking that I was going to watch a ridiculous movie, I left the cinema with deep breaths. Dozens of things that I haven't experienced yet flashed before my eyes. It's tough to face the fact that we're all going to die someday tomorrow. We should at least try to live a good life. Gather around you people who love you and can benefit you. Some diseases have no cure. When it comes, you have to live. Most of us have different chronic diseases. We learn to live with them. Because life goes on. Regardless, it's beautiful. That's why live your life and try to stay like the one on the right of the frame no matter how old you are. Have a life to look back on and be proud of. Because you can't choose the one in the left frame. But the one on the right is entirely your choice. Gaspar Noe also said bluntly, I choose the right side.

Embora consiga transmitir bem sua mensagem, e com técnicas visuais inovadoras (o quadro duplo), o filme se arrasta mais do que deveria, tornando-se até um pouco sádico. O casal de idosos tem uma atuação realmente brilhante e visceral, e vale a pena conferir. É melancólico, meio pessimista, mas muito poético, e tudo muito realista graças às grandes performances.

Another stressful experiment by Gaspar Noé. 'Vortex' is a dramatic downward spiral of frustration and hopelessness. Dario Argento impresses as an old man trying to live many lives simultaneously despite his age. But it is Françoise Lebrun who gives the most striking and somber performance by playing an old woman lost in the shadow of dementia. 'Vortex' sure plays some of the same notes as 'The Father,' but the tone is cruder. Noé draws upon some visual resources to exasperate the viewer — is the split screen format diabolically trying to look like a film frame? — creating a sense of confusion and discomfort. It's like 'Climax' but slowed down to the minimum level, with some Haneke's 'Amour' elements in there. My only complaint is the excessive runtime and the feeling that everything gets repetitive very quickly, but I guess that was his intent.

I'm not a fan of Gaspar Noé. I never have been and I've always been clear about it, but I also know how to admit when my mouth gets shut. And Noe has done it in what is undoubtedly the most mature and crucial film he has delivered in his career. Here he's no longer the provocateur, but the creator who builds a devastating and sad story that doesn't try to be gentle in its treatment and it's not because it cannot be humane in a tale that deals with a subject as depressing as this one, but to have treated it in a way that would have softened it in some way would have been terrible for his film. Vortex is a film that perhaps goes a bit overboard in its length, and you may feel like you no longer want to go through with that painful treatment, but it's a film that should be experienced regardless of the cathartic satisfaction or entertainment it may not provide.

Writer/director Gaspar Noé is known for his unique visual style and willingness to experiment. He keeps it up with his latest effort revolving around an aging couple in Paris, followed simultaneously on split screens. Her dementia (Françoise Lebrun) is advancing rapidly, while he (famed Italian director Dario Argento) has to deal with her erratic behavior and his own health issues. The dual images are interesting, observing their behaviors without much cinematic interference. She wanders aimlessly, while he tries to write his book and cope with her. Each scene is extended with plenty of silence and minimally interesting dialogue, which was often improvised. Noé's love of a distracting "blink" between every cut (a few frames of black) serves to pull the viewer out of the experience. Some will appreciate the measured pace and naturalistic approach, while others will find the cinematic gimmick gets in the way of any real emotional connections. (In French with subtitles)

A slow moving, disturbing, and emotionally impaling cinematic experience. Gaspar really doesn’t disappoint, as this film packs some of the most potent performances in any of his previous films, Dario Argento, François Lebrun and Alex Lutz do a surprisingly amazing job performing. The split screen used in the film’s visuals are wonderfully implemented with a clear artistic purpose, the film is incredibly well shot and though the pacing is very slow it never feels dull whatsoever. My main issues lie with the film’s narrative feeling a little scatter-brained and random, a few plot threads feel picked up and dropped without much development, and though I appreciate the use of empty scenes that feel like nothingness as a way to illustrate how our lives are made up of 50% nothingness, there’s a point where those additions aren’t needed anymore.

Watched this film at the Cannes Film festival. Absolutely stunning the way how the film was shot and presented!