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Gaspar NoesVortexis perhaps the most human movie hes ever made.
And yet, somehow, its also the cruelest.
Vortexdoesnt need crushed heads to be emotionally pulverizing.
Theres an unflinching, near-clinical relentlessness to the picture, but therein lies its compassion and empathy.
Noes protagonists dont get a reprieve from their situation, so why should we?
She remains wide awake, her eyes open in fear and confusion.
Does she understand whats happening to her?
Slowly, a line creeps down the middle of the frame, separating them into two shots.
Its visually striking and quite beautiful, but also profoundly unsettling.
InVortex, this floating quality, combined with the split screen, adds to the disorientation.
The wife wanders off to the market, but she isnt actually looking for anything.
As the minutes tick away, we realize she isnt sure what shes doing or where she is.
She doesnt speak much.
Usually she mutters inaudibly or remains silent.
The roaming, fragmented style mirrors her confusion; we too can feel the alienation in our bones.
Noe is himself a notorious movie-poster collector, and he lost his mother some years ago to Alzheimers.
Do not mistakeVortexs relentlessness for coldness or distance.
Every second seethes with emotion of an intensely personal kind.
This is a director confronting the darkest, saddest corners of his mind.
To be fair, there are moments of great onscreen tenderness inVortex, too.
Or, rather, moments of ordinary tenderness that become great because of Noes cinematic conceit.
Its the simplest of gestures, but it takes on monumental importance within Noes aesthetic framework.
Ultimately, what makesVortexso cruel is what makes it so honest.
Noe, being Noe, goes in the opposite direction: He rubs our faces in it.
Nobody gets to go to a better place inVortex.
And yet the film is sublime.
