From New French Extremity to the subversion of screen violence: aesthetics and discourse in Gaspar Noé’s 'I Stand Alone'

Abstract

This article explores the discursive and aesthetic aspects of the depiction of violence in the controversial filmography of Gaspar Noé. The main object of study is his first film, I Stand Alone (Seul contre tous, 1998), understood here as the true foundation of his creative approach, before Irreversible (2002) received international recognition and prompted critics to include him in the so-called “New French Extremity” movement. Drawing on Santos Zunzunegui's concept of “filmic microanalysis”, this article examines Noé’s aggressive formal approach with the aim of identifying his unique way of subverting the traditional cinematic spectacle enshrined in the binary of sex and violence, as well as the relationship it establishes with the spectator, who is a necessary accomplice in the hypervisibility of extreme violence that has characterised the evolution of contemporary cinema.