Seul contre tous (Gaspar Noé, 1998) aka I Stand Alone

I Stand Alone (Gaspar Noé, 1998)
Rating: 6.3

I Stand Alone continues from where the nameless butcher left off in Noe's short film Carne. He is now 50 years old, bankrupt, separated from his mentally challenged daughter, and completely unhappy with his life. His despair and confusion is expressed to us through his nihilistic monologues and anger filled violent fantasies. Unfortunately I find the editing and stylization of the film to detract from the social issued being addressed and the realistic nature of the butcher's suffering. I also didn't like the opening of the film which looked like a power point presentation summarizing the prequel. The final 20 minutes and most memorable part of the film is preceded by a 30 second title card warning the audience that this is their last chance to abandon the film. I suppose Noé wants his films to be associated with a sort of shock gimmick, using the nameless butcher/common man's story as and incestuous relationship as a means to convey a universal statement about creating one's own personal morality and justice.