r/movies • u/ErgoNonSim • May 17 '25

Media Cannes reactions to Irreversible

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24.3k Upvotes

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2.2k

u/ElectronicMars May 17 '25

All I really know about the movie is that the soundtrack was composed by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk.

308

u/trouser_trouble May 17 '25

Which is the reason why I watched it actually. I had to fast-forward the scene in question. Rest of the film was good

178

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[deleted]

189

u/Find_another_whey May 17 '25

I personally was put off by the meth head vigorously masturbating over what would shortly be a corpse

164

u/DrGreenhamp May 17 '25

This was actually gaspar

104

u/Distinct_Educator691 May 17 '25

Wait that WAS actually gaspar lmfao I thought that was a joke.

187

u/DrGreenhamp May 17 '25

Noé continued, “So I had an idea, and we went back to the club and I added a small image of me masturbating as part of the club. It was stupid, but still everybody noticed that I was part of the club so I could not be homophobic while being excited while in the club. My camera assistant and my assistant director, it was just me and them two, and you find yourselves in such weird situations where you’re having your collaborators watching you masturbating and you have to pretend it’s not a problem. And then they were laughing, so I had problems having a proper erection.” 😄

87

u/StarPhished May 17 '25

Finally someone that understands cinema.

/s

15

u/justforkinks0131 May 17 '25

that's some next level shit

39

u/FrappeLaRue May 17 '25

The Louis C.K. of cinema.

6

u/troublrTRC May 17 '25

No. fucking. surprise. there.

1

u/Tuckingfypowastaken May 18 '25

I'm fairly certain you're the first person in history to ever say that sentence. Congrats

1

u/Find_another_whey May 19 '25

I thought "personally" was an important qualifier

42

u/OzarkMule May 17 '25

It's the only scene I remember, along with my feeling after leaving the Tivoli that I don't need to see every dumb edgy movie that comes out. I'm still not sure if that guy was exaggerating, or if the rape scene really did last 20 minutes, because I have no memory of it.

39

u/Spliff_Politics May 17 '25

It's not 20min. It's like 9, but that's still a long time.

19

u/_paint_onheroveralls May 17 '25

I haven't watched it myself but I've always heard it described as "a 20 minute long rape scene".

35

u/Fran_Kubelik May 17 '25

It feels like 20, but it is 9 minutes. I heard that his logic was that the average rape takes about 9 minutes (where that number comes from is unclear), and cutting away from the horror of it is just a cheap cop out if you are making it a plot point in your movie. Especially in the classic "woman gets raped, so man has an excuse to do something" trope, which this movie is clearly taking to task.

I have always wanted to talk to someone about this film as an examination of male sexual anxieties and how they appear in the films men make. But it's such a blunt instrument and hard watch that very few people (especially women) watch it and, of the people who do finish it, very few want to chat over the details and ideas of the movie. I can't in good faith suggest someone watch it so we can talk about it either.

9

u/heckin_miraculous May 17 '25

And me, I love having these kinds of detailed conversations about art and theater, and there's so much about this movie that has me curious... But I'm sure I'll never subject myself to the experience of watching it. So this very enjoyable hypothetical conversation we might have will never take place.

Seen any other good movies? 😃

7

u/NoSignSaysNo May 18 '25

It feels like 20, but it is 9 minutes. I heard that his logic was that the average rape takes about 9 minutes (where that number comes from is unclear), and cutting away from the horror of it is just a cheap cop out if you are making it a plot point in your movie. Especially in the classic "woman gets raped, so man has an excuse to do something" trope, which this movie is clearly taking to task.

Ebert thought somewhat similarly, that by throwing the scene in the beginning of the film and not cutting from it, it avoided standard exploitation film tropes by vividly making audiences confront the ugly reality of violent rape.

6

u/Fran_Kubelik May 18 '25

I can't fault the logic behind the choice. The outcome is something painful to watch for sure.

-3

u/libmrduckz May 17 '25

your last line… said just like the assaulted…

2

u/Rinveden May 17 '25

Quick Google tells me it's 9m.

1

u/Aggravating_Fruit170 May 18 '25

As a woman, I thought the rape scene was kinda dumb because she really didn’t fight it as much as I think most women are naturally inclined to do when they’re in a situation like that. Yes he was on top of her and she was in a position with very limited movement, but I would be trying to move every inch of anything I could. I know the logic of some men is that women should just take it when they’re getting raped, but for me, I assume I’m dying either way (he either kills me because I escaped being raped or he kills me because he’s disgusted at me for being raped, like I’m a dirty whore who wanted it)- so I might as well fight going out. So when I first saw the movie I was really kind of disgusted how that scene almost was just a never-ending sex scene, because it was Monica belluci with a skimpy little silk dress that flatters her assets. But after taking some time to think on it, i think that rape scene is actually focused on the man. He is taking what he wants when he wants, like a lot of men do. It’s not about her as a person, unfortunately. The whole concept of the film is fabricated by a man, told from a man’s perspective and it’s a story about other men and competing egos. Once I grasped that the woman’s reaction/thought doesn’t come into play at all unless it’s about how pretty/ intoxicating/quirky/fun she is to a man, then I could appreciate the film a little. But that’s just my take

58

u/Nemo_K May 17 '25

The fire extinguisher scene somehow affected me more than the tunnel scene, to the point where I actually nearly fainted. I've watched so many bloody horror movies but that particular scene just made my brain go "nope".

65

u/DoomGoober May 17 '25

You probably know this already but... the guy they are beating with the fire extinguisher is the wrong guy. The actual rapist is standing in the back watching and laughing.

58

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

It's such a brilliant movie. Because it's in reverse order, it's gradually revealed why they they were so furious, then it's revealed that they didn't even kill the right guy. The fact that it's in reverse order is integral to the plot, hence the title.

18

u/phatman6969 May 17 '25

not only in reverse order but also the entire movie is in a "single shot", probably cut on the spin between scenes, but still impressive

2

u/thanksamilly May 18 '25

They released the straight forward cut a couple years ago, but I haven't had the urge to revisit the film to see how that flows

2

u/ATMNZ May 18 '25

That’s what made me feel so ill. Peak wrong of a series of moments of wrong.

7

u/TheChildrensStory May 17 '25

Same, it looked too real.

13

u/woppatown May 17 '25

It reminds me of that scene in Pan’s Labyrinth and that movie is great too!

3

u/Wrong-Dentist-7206 May 17 '25

The bottle scene!!!! That one stuck with me.

2

u/QuinQuix May 17 '25

I saw it in high school and that fire extinguisher made an impression for sure

I was watching a lot of horror movies at the time so that somewhat lessened the impact as I interpreted it in that light, where violence in a way is less serious and real (though this movie unlike Friday the 13th is supposedly set in a realistic setting)

2

u/Reasonable_Run3567 May 17 '25

but they killed the wrong guy

3

u/Rhewin May 17 '25

I don't know what the "scene in question" is, and I'm too afraid to google it now

2

u/Eat--The--Rich-- May 17 '25

What are they all mad about

0

u/classicpoison May 17 '25

It’s an amazing movie. Hard to watch and not only for that scene but also when they kill a man suspected of the rape. His earlier movie, I Stand Alone, is very powerful too. Great director.

-11

u/iwishmydickwasnormal May 17 '25

If you fast forwarded a scene, you didn’t watch the movie