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| Scene from Climax (2019) |
In case you didn't know, A24 is one of the great purveyors of modern cinema. Since 2013, the studio has found a way to innovate independent cinema by turning each release into an event. As a result, A24 A-to-Z will be an ongoing series that looks at every release from the studio by analyzing its production history, release, criticisms, and any awards attention that it might've received. Join me on a quest to explore the modern heroes of cinema by exploring every hit and miss that comes with that magnificent logo. They may not all be great, but they more than make A24 what it is and what it will hopefully continue to be for years to come.
Released: March 1, 2019
Release Number: 77
Directed By: Gaspar Noe
Starring: Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub
Plot: French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.
On paper, director Gaspar Noe's Climax shouldn't work. That's largely because the script was only five pages long, predominantly improvised on the spot. Whereas A24's previous film Outlaws passionately studied the biker culture, Noe went in a different direction. It was shot on the fly, working as mostly an idea of dancers descending into madness. Where does it go from there? That's up for the performers, largely amateurs, to decide. The results proved to be something new for Noe. After a career of divisive cinema, he had created a film that connected audiences, won an award at Cannes and revived interest in a career defined largely by making the audience as uncomfortable as possible. Climax was a film unlike anything that A24 had released before. It pushed boundaries of what a narrative could contain, and in the process created one of the most surreal, intense journeys in the studio's history.
The story starts sometime in November or December 2017. Noe had been invited to a vogue ballroom held by Lea Vlamos (who would later join the cast). Noe remembered something alluring about the experience, believing that the performers were possessed by their movements as if having an out of body experience. He had also seen the documentary Rize, which focused on the krumping phenomenon and felt compelled to look further into making a perverse dance movie. The first half would be a roller coaster and the second was a ghost train. He was drawn to the idea of making it as quickly as possible with as little preproduction as possible. It was a shift from his other work like Irreversible and Enter the Void, which required a lot of planning. He even teamed up with frequent collaborator Benoit Debie, who also had worked on the A24 film Spring Breakers, to help capture the look. While most of the dancing would be improvised, he hired a choreographer to mold the first dance throughout the 16 filmed takes.
Climax is said to be based on a true story focusing around a French dance troupe in the 1990s. During an after-party, they consumed drinks spiked with LSD. That is the only real connection, as every event after took place outside of the venue, and nobody in the Climax cast and crew can recall what happened. Noe recalled his own youth where he would consume drugs and give his friends LSD. He also noted that alcohol was almost always more harmful than any other type of drug and felt that it would help the story. His final stroke of genius came when he decided that he would break from the fantastical nature of his previous films and focus on how hallucination looks like from the observer. In fact, there wasn't going to be a lot of experimentation in fantasy. It was actors going through a massive freak-out together, ending in a state of utmost tragedy.
As mentioned, Noe wanted to film things on the fly. He had an idea of where he wanted things to begin and end, but he wasn't committed to anything else. The final script would amount to a paltry five pages, serving more like an outline than providing any insightful details. The production began in January 2018, which included casting dancers with no acting experience. Noe had scouted various dance clubs and events, looking for performers willing to work with him. The only professional actor was Sofia Boutella, who returned to dancing after a few years. The catch was that she was initially dissuaded by the project due to a lack of script. Noe convinced her and soon they were filming in an abandoned school in France. They would work for hours before filming to gain a sense of character. They filmed in chronological order, which meant that improvising wasn't going to be a headache. If the actors wanted to shift the story based on their personal comfort, it was possible. Noe would consult them on ideas, though nothing was set in stone.
The film was highly experimental in ways that reflected Noe's own taste in cinema. Aspects like the credits appeared out of order. The film opened with closing credits while the opening credits happened later in the film. The title wouldn't be revealed until the end. Noe claims that he wanted to create the sense of an abrupt ending like there had been in the 40s and 50s films. Along with the world of dance, he sought inspiration from the film demonic possession film Possession. He also cites The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure as influences with references to filmmakers like Luis Bunuel and Pier Paolo Pasolini scattered throughout the film. Various techniques, including a 45-minute long take, was inspired by the Spanish 2015 film Victoria. For a film that felt like it had no idea what it wanted, it was a mishmash of chaotic ideas coming together in ways that only vulgar auteurs like Noe could pull off.
While the film was shot in chronological order, there were aspects that were added later. There were two days that it snowed in France. Noe decided to film what became the opening and closing scenes of a man walking through the snow while bleeding. He shot it with a drone. He didn't know where he'd use it, but he held onto it like a satanic icon, eventually using it as an omen of the bad things to come. He recreated the snow effects on set to make it more plausible as a plot device. One of the actors could scream on command. There were also interviews with the cast that were inserted later, and all were of course improvised. Noe claimed later in interviews that his approach to filming the scenes was just as impulsive as the rest of things. He didn't know how he'd frame the scene until he was there, face to face with the moment. Every scene was shot between 15 and 16 takes. The film was also completely shot in 15 days.
In fact, the whole production from start to finish was completed in four months. This was in part to meet the deadline for the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, where it made its premiere during the Director's Fortnight section. Given his controversial filmography, he decided to play up the taboo of his new film before the premiere with a poster highlighting his negative criticism:
On paper, director Gaspar Noe's Climax shouldn't work. That's largely because the script was only five pages long, predominantly improvised on the spot. Whereas A24's previous film Outlaws passionately studied the biker culture, Noe went in a different direction. It was shot on the fly, working as mostly an idea of dancers descending into madness. Where does it go from there? That's up for the performers, largely amateurs, to decide. The results proved to be something new for Noe. After a career of divisive cinema, he had created a film that connected audiences, won an award at Cannes and revived interest in a career defined largely by making the audience as uncomfortable as possible. Climax was a film unlike anything that A24 had released before. It pushed boundaries of what a narrative could contain, and in the process created one of the most surreal, intense journeys in the studio's history.
The story starts sometime in November or December 2017. Noe had been invited to a vogue ballroom held by Lea Vlamos (who would later join the cast). Noe remembered something alluring about the experience, believing that the performers were possessed by their movements as if having an out of body experience. He had also seen the documentary Rize, which focused on the krumping phenomenon and felt compelled to look further into making a perverse dance movie. The first half would be a roller coaster and the second was a ghost train. He was drawn to the idea of making it as quickly as possible with as little preproduction as possible. It was a shift from his other work like Irreversible and Enter the Void, which required a lot of planning. He even teamed up with frequent collaborator Benoit Debie, who also had worked on the A24 film Spring Breakers, to help capture the look. While most of the dancing would be improvised, he hired a choreographer to mold the first dance throughout the 16 filmed takes.
Climax is said to be based on a true story focusing around a French dance troupe in the 1990s. During an after-party, they consumed drinks spiked with LSD. That is the only real connection, as every event after took place outside of the venue, and nobody in the Climax cast and crew can recall what happened. Noe recalled his own youth where he would consume drugs and give his friends LSD. He also noted that alcohol was almost always more harmful than any other type of drug and felt that it would help the story. His final stroke of genius came when he decided that he would break from the fantastical nature of his previous films and focus on how hallucination looks like from the observer. In fact, there wasn't going to be a lot of experimentation in fantasy. It was actors going through a massive freak-out together, ending in a state of utmost tragedy.
As mentioned, Noe wanted to film things on the fly. He had an idea of where he wanted things to begin and end, but he wasn't committed to anything else. The final script would amount to a paltry five pages, serving more like an outline than providing any insightful details. The production began in January 2018, which included casting dancers with no acting experience. Noe had scouted various dance clubs and events, looking for performers willing to work with him. The only professional actor was Sofia Boutella, who returned to dancing after a few years. The catch was that she was initially dissuaded by the project due to a lack of script. Noe convinced her and soon they were filming in an abandoned school in France. They would work for hours before filming to gain a sense of character. They filmed in chronological order, which meant that improvising wasn't going to be a headache. If the actors wanted to shift the story based on their personal comfort, it was possible. Noe would consult them on ideas, though nothing was set in stone.
The film was highly experimental in ways that reflected Noe's own taste in cinema. Aspects like the credits appeared out of order. The film opened with closing credits while the opening credits happened later in the film. The title wouldn't be revealed until the end. Noe claims that he wanted to create the sense of an abrupt ending like there had been in the 40s and 50s films. Along with the world of dance, he sought inspiration from the film demonic possession film Possession. He also cites The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure as influences with references to filmmakers like Luis Bunuel and Pier Paolo Pasolini scattered throughout the film. Various techniques, including a 45-minute long take, was inspired by the Spanish 2015 film Victoria. For a film that felt like it had no idea what it wanted, it was a mishmash of chaotic ideas coming together in ways that only vulgar auteurs like Noe could pull off.
While the film was shot in chronological order, there were aspects that were added later. There were two days that it snowed in France. Noe decided to film what became the opening and closing scenes of a man walking through the snow while bleeding. He shot it with a drone. He didn't know where he'd use it, but he held onto it like a satanic icon, eventually using it as an omen of the bad things to come. He recreated the snow effects on set to make it more plausible as a plot device. One of the actors could scream on command. There were also interviews with the cast that were inserted later, and all were of course improvised. Noe claimed later in interviews that his approach to filming the scenes was just as impulsive as the rest of things. He didn't know how he'd frame the scene until he was there, face to face with the moment. Every scene was shot between 15 and 16 takes. The film was also completely shot in 15 days.
In fact, the whole production from start to finish was completed in four months. This was in part to meet the deadline for the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, where it made its premiere during the Director's Fortnight section. Given his controversial filmography, he decided to play up the taboo of his new film before the premiere with a poster highlighting his negative criticism:
By some surprise, the film did well. Noe became surprised at the universal acclaim from the premiere, as he personally believed that all great art was divisive. It would become the most acclaimed film of his career, though it wasn't without its detractors. There were those who criticized its lack of plot. Still, it wasn't enough to keep Noe from winning the Art Cinema Award. The film became a must-see event, and A24 knew that. The buzz out of Cannes was that the film was so controversial and shocking that it served as a selling point, becoming one of the rare Noe films to actually get a theatrical release in the United States. The film was also the first from Noe to receive an R-rating from the MPAA.
It does seem likely that despite his love of divisive reviews, Noe would love that critics aggregate website gave Climax a 69% rating. Joseph Walsh of Time Out leads the praise when he said that "Cranking up the decibels, and with nausea-inducing camera work, it's a sensual overload that will have your heart pounding." Others like Zhuo-Ning Su of Awards Daily noticed what the film did well when claiming that "Climax doesn't exactly have a point to make, but as an exercise in visceral filmmaking, it passes with flying colors." Jeff York of Creative Screenwriting was more critical when writing "At the end of it all, this twisted horror tale is a fascinating demonstration of moviemaking prowess, but beyond that, the message seems either too obvious or even frivolous." People like Dustin Chase of Texas Art & Film went further when decrying "Noé guarantees that most viewers unlucky enough to find themselves the victim of watching this movie will have the worst experience of their life."
Overall, Climax was the first surprise success for A24 in 2019. In fact, it may have been the biggest surprise in Noe's entire career. While he had been touted for his controversial style of filmmaking, he had rarely come this close to international accessibility. It could be that it was his most fluid, having a camera not afraid to go into odd corners. Beyond that, it's just a hypnotic film about a world falling apart, and its discomfort was something more palatable than his other work. Still, it was evident that more interesting things were coming in the year ahead from the studio. Continuing their journey into international oddities, A24's next film is an Irish horror film all about the mysteries of family. It's a different kind of discomfort and one that is likely to be just as shocking as a spiked bowl of punch.
Up Next: The Hole in the Ground (2019)
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