I Stand Alone

 

 

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I have watched this film some time ago but because it's been brought back up within my friendly pack I've managed to view it again while enclosing you to read this today. I have also seen Noe's Irreversible and thought it was quite disturbing but compare to this its sort of tame.

"I Stand Alone" was the debut feature film from French filmmaker Gaspar Noé. Noé rose to cult status in 2002 with his controversial film Irréversible which, in some circles, caused quite a stir. But "I Stand Alone" is a different film entirely. It is set in France circa 1980, and tells the story of The Butcher (Philippe Nahon). Forced into retirement due to bankruptcy, he finds himself locked into a marriage with his nagging pregnant wife (Frankie Pain) and a hateful mother-in-law (Martine Audrain). Having moved from Paris hoping for a new life, he finds himself at the very bottom of the barrel living in a cramped apartment and taunted by the women every moment of the day. Then one day when confronted by his wife for cheating he snaps. This man is ANGRY! and we are made aware of it in part by occasional acts of violence, but mostly by a continual stream-of-consciousness narration in which all his bile is directed in scatter-gun fashion at the world in general. It is difficult to tell how much this character is emblematic of Noe's own beliefs; one hopes he isn't.

Realizing what he's done the Butcher abandons them and returns to Paris. Poised on the edge, seething with bitterness and hatred for a world he must endure, he continues on looking for money, work and a place to stay. No one will help, not even his friends. After a barroom confrontation that leaves him filled with rage and filled with a resentment of his own life, he resorts to the one thing that makes him happy, this leads to what is quite possibly one of the most disturbing endings.

I usually don't like to compare films; I like to think that each piece can stand on its own and has its own merits. But there are many films today that borrow or pay homage to classics. "I Stand Alone" is one of those films that clearly borrow from films such as Taxi Driver. You can see the trademarks in the Butcher from the Travis Bickle character in Taxi Driver (Two-Disc Collector's Edition), the loner who's ready to explode from living in an unforgiving world that simmers with bitterness and hate. There is an unavoidable depth of decay and deprivation portrayed in the character that remains stagnant throughout the film. Unlike Taxi Driver the Butcher's depression doesn't transcend to nihilism, it builds and builds as the narration reaches an unconscionable crescendo. The Butcher reaches a point where all is lost except one ray of light, the proverbial silver lining, which is .......Sorry that's all I can say but recommended to you if your curios.

When I recently viewed Gaspar Noe's film "Irreversible," I noticed with interest a scene at the beginning of the movie where an elderly man waxes philosophic about the various problems in his life to another poor soul while both men sit in a filthy, cramped room. I chuckled inwardly about Noe's in joke since anyone who has seen "I Stand Alone" recognizes the elderly gent with a bad attitude as none other than the suicidal butcher, the main character in this gripping film about the psychological free fall of a man with nothing left to lose in life. If I had to compare "Irreversible" with "I Stand Alone," I would definitely pick "Irreversible" as the better of the two in nearly every aspect of filmmaking, but "I Stand Alone" is a memorable experience nonetheless. If you thought watching Monica Bellucci suffer indignity after indignity was bad, you should watch the last twenty minutes of "I Stand Alone" for a whole knew outlook on what constitutes "disturbing." Gaspar Noe is quickly turning into my favorite "foreign" film director. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

The plot of "I Stand Alone" is frighteningly simple. The main character is an unemployed butcher, middle aged, whose life is one long series of disappointments. We learn he is the son of a French communist executed by the Nazis who eventually married, had a child, and lost his business after he killed a man he mistakenly assumed had brutalized his daughter. The incident sent his young child over the edge mentally, requiring her to check in for a lengthy stay at the local mental motel. The butcher, now on the ropes emotionally and recently released from prison, leaves his child behind to take up with an obnoxious woman and her overbearing mother because of a vague promise made by said woman to set our hero up in the meat business again. Sadly, this woman becomes pregnant and begins to berate the butcher about his taciturn nature, using the excuse of being with child to get what she wants from the relationship. The constant pressures of unemployment and the nagging from his woman causes the butcher to snap; he beats the pregnant woman viciously, and then flees when he worries that he has killed his unborn child and could again end up in prison for his actions.

Heading back to Paris and points north, the butcher wanders through the blasted landscapes of a France never seen in travel brochures. As he roams around with a diminishing supply of money and no job prospects, meeting old friends that refuse to help him and sleeping in pay by the day rat holes, the butcher engages the audience through a largely internal monologue that wallows in misogyny, racism, nihilism, and general misanthropy. This guy hates everyone and everything; he feels that the whole world is out to dump on him and seeks to pay back all of his enemies in the most vicious of ways. When he procures a gun with a few bullets in it, he begins formulating elaborate plans for bloody revenge. He'll kill the smug jerk that refused to give him a job, the man at the bar who gave him some grief over the tab, and anyone else that gets in his way. The butcher finally decides to pay a visit to his daughter since he hasn't seen her in ages, and it is during this visit that "I Stand Alone" enters its final, most horrific stage. Nothing will prepare you for the terrible final moments of Noe's movie. It's deeply disturbing, sick, morally reprehensible, and just plain nasty. Come to think of it, the whole movie is an exercise in depravity virtually certain to give most mainstream viewers conniption fits.

The best elements of "I Stand Alone" have little to do with the lengthy dialogue of the mad butcher or his rambling journeys through Paris. After awhile you get used to the run down buildings, the litter clogged streets, and the redundant blatherings of the butcher. You probably won't feel too much pity for the guy after awhile anyway, seeing as how he's such a sick, hateful soul full of loathing for his fellow man (and women, especially women). What does strike a chord is how Noe portrays this unpleasant chap. Noe rubs your nose in this guy's misery to such an extent that you shudder to think there are people like the butcher around us every day, adrift in their frustrated lives and ready to explode at any minute. In an effort to bring home the gut wrenching stresses in the butcher's existence, the director employs an unusual but very effective extreme focus camera technique--accompanied by a dramatic thudding sound--at certain important points throughout the film. There's even a flashing sign towards the end warning the viewer the movie is about to take an extreme turn just in case you wish to switch the whole thing off. Brilliant!

A few caveats are necessary with "I Stand Alone." The conclusion of the film, with its graphic violence and whirlwind dialogue, will upset viewers unaccustomed to such things. Moreover, at one point in the movie the butcher sits in an adult movie theater to be alone with his frustration. That's not too bad in and of itself since we already know the thought processes of the butcher, but we get an eyeful of the definitely XXX rated movie playing on the screen. If pornography really bothers you, take a pass on "I Stand Alone." I, however, thought Noe's a film a brilliant piece of cinema exploring the dark recesses of a man on the verge of a suicidal breakdown. If that sounds appealing to you, certainly give this one a glance. Then watch "Irreversible."

If you are even looking at this title, you must already be somewhat interested in this film. my advice is get it, blind buy or not. it is extremely well done. the film is very dark in subject matter, and ignoring the graphic hard core sex shown briefly when the character goes to a porn theater, the movie is rather tame. The violence is, of course, violent. But it is very seldom and not "gory". Just based on word of mouth i picked up this disc and was not let down. easily one of the better blind buys i have made. the DVD is barebone and this title will probablly never see a SE (atleast in region 1.) the transfer and audio is decent. stop reading and put it in your cart.

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5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite movies
I really love Gasper Noe's two films. They have simple messages and convey them simply, and beautifully. One would have to be blind not to see how talented this guy is. Read more

Published on April 9 2004 by stu

4.0 out of 5 stars I Stand Alone...
Gapar Noe is a great filmmaker. He is actually my new favorite Director and I look forward to seeing anything he touches upon seeing Irreversible which completely blew me away)... Read more

Published on Mar 15 2004 by K. Driscoll

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 for accomplishing its goal.
This film is in no way enjoyable. It's very disturbing and depressing and you leave the film feeling like crap. Must see it to believe.

Published on Jan 29 2004 by Tom Servo

5.0 out of 5 stars whata F***?
one of the best movies and french new wave films ever.also recomand to see
MAN BITES DOG.

Published on Jan 24 2004 by darko

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This is an excellent movie that has tons of intrigue and blattent violence to depict what really goes on in the mind of this down-and-out butcher. Cest merveilleux, un vrai oeuvre.

Published on Nov 18 2003 by Tim from Canada

3.0 out of 5 stars Good movie, not-so-good DVD
For those of you who had high expectations for Joel Schumacher's film "Falling Down" based on its concept but were disappointed in its execution, you might enjoy this... Read more

Published on Oct 20 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars family film
This is a great family film, a lot of fun sing a longs and smiles. Make sure you watch it with your little daughter or little boy and a couple of aunts and uncles. Read more

Published on Oct 10 2003 by The man under your bed . . .

1.0 out of 5 stars ***ZERO STARS***
This was, by far, the most horribly depressing film I have ever seen in my life. Normally, things don't upset me and it takes quite a lot to shock or offend me but this movie... Read more

Published on Oct 3 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Voyage au bout de l'Enfer...
Un film noir, désespérant, qui fait douter du genre humain.
Un concentré hallucinant d'ignominies physiques et morales que l'on souhaite ne jamais... Read more

Published on May 18 2003 by Philippe Lowinski

5.0 out of 5 stars What is Love?
If you believe in Love beyond good and bad at all, this movie is for you.
What is morality? This question is the starter of the movie. Read more

Published on Mar 17 2003 by K. Okumura

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