Climax

We haven’t had a party gone wrong quite like this before. A brilliant one-shot musical intro, a few lines to get to know the characters and the party begins. For the participating unfortunates, a badly mixed sangria can work real magic. Climax is a super engaging acid trip. Out of Noé’s entire filmography, it is the most similar to Enter the Void, but this time taking place in a few rooms and one hallway. Dancing and frolicking, collective paranoia, hallucinogenic madness. The movie is tense and scary in places, but by Noé’s standards, it is quite restrained in terms of sex and violence. Four stars thanks to the festival atmosphere (or rather the constant hunger for innovative things), but otherwise it is just the same self-obsessed inanity with pseudo-philosophical insights as found in most of the director‘s filmography. [Cannes] (05/15/2018)

Dirty Dancing meets Trainspotting in ultra-hardcore mode. I'm convinced that Gaspar Noé is not entirely normal; that said, in the vast majority of cases, it's rather to the benefit of the cause, because films this intense simply aren’t made every day. Actually, Climax starts quite unobtrusively and for a long time gives the impression of a visually appealing "party movie", of course with the exception of the last approx. 40 minutes. From a certain point on it becomes such a mess that I couldn't help but shake my head and allow my strong negative emotions to flow towards all the characters. It's definitely not a date movie or an otherwise similarly oriented romantic evening, but the experience is intense and evocative. And the predatory, neurotic, and slightly epileptic directorial style still amuses me a lot. (06/22/2019)

The best dance film since Dirty Dancing! The cinematography is just incredible. The camera revolves around the characters, makes long zoom-ins, somersaults and flips, crawls upside-down, peers down vertically… until you start feeling dizzy. Noé playfully makes fun of the viewer, for example with the end credits not being at the end at all, or by the means of editing – at some point, you get insanely long scenes in a single take, to then better contrast with a succession of short scenes and a generous amount of really eye-catching and aggressive cuts. In short, the structure of this film is totally polymorphic and completely deviates from the established conventions. And, certainly as Noé intended, Climax has the ability to enthral, entertain, disgust, disturb and frighten the viewer. [KVIFF 2018] (07/06/2018)

Gaspar Noé’s films are a genre of their own – you won’t see anything like them anywhere else. Climax is packed with all the signature elements fans of this wild innovator will appreciate. Essentially, it’s a trippy dance movie that will have uninitiated viewers fleeing the theater within the first third. While I’m not usually a fan of experimental films, I always look forward to Noé’s cinematic experiments. The use of the camera here is absolutely brilliant, with some incredibly impressive long takes – even if it’s clear there are hidden cuts. If you’re curious about what it looks like to be on a really bad trip, Climax is the film for you. However, if you don’t enjoy watching a bunch of unlikable characters dance, drink, do drugs, and talk about sex – and then lose their minds on LSD – all shot in an extremely unconventional style, then steer clear. Good thing I don't drink sangria... (07/06/2018)

Aggressive, provocative, controversial and boundary-pushing, Gaspar Noe delivers his best work and it is once again an original, fresh and uncomfortably steamy spectacle. The film is even based on a true story, about thirty dancers finishing their American tour and intending to celebrate properly, but the evening goes awry when LSD is mixed into the Sangria and unfortunately not everyone makes it to the morning. This dance horror drug musical is one of a kind and compelling enough to keep you interested, though it's good to know the director's previous work beforehand so you have an idea of what you're getting into. The opening dance number is absolutely breathtaking and enthralling and the witty sex references suited me just fine, but once the party gets underway in full swing the hallucinogenic trippy ride begins, with everyone involved experiencing a nightmare you wouldn’t believe. There are a couple of uncomfortable scenes, though the violence is slightly skimped on, but it makes up for it with solid music, dance numbers, very racy girls, sex scenes and original cinematography with a filter at the end albeit too chaotic for some. Sofia Boutella rocks again and since I first saw her in Kingsman she has only surprised and shocked! Solid for me. 80%. (02/03/2019)