Carne (1991)

Strong and Moving!

Beautiful, moving film.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

"Carne" is a 38-minute movie from almost 25 years ago and the director and writer is Gaspar Noé, who is still pretty known today, mostly for his works after "Carne". I may be a bit biased here because I quite like Philippe Nahon as an actor and he is in almost every scene in this film. He is really good in portraying characters that have a lot of rage ailing under the surface and at some point it explodes and all comes out, like in this situation when he stabs the guy who he thought abused his daughter. Noe and Nahon reunited 7 years later and made a feature film about the same character as in this short film. I really like this feature film and while I have to say this short film was not yet that good, it is still a solid watch, even for a vegetarian like myself with all the butchering scenes. People need to stop being offended so easily by film really. Of course, when people think of Noé, they immediately think of "Irréversible" and the infamous rape scene. However, there is a parallel between that film and this one here. Here also somebody takes very painful revenge for a crime that he suspects somebody did, but it was actually somebody else. Anyway, this was Noé's third short movie and he won quite a few awards here, including a very prestigious honor at Cannes. All in all I recommend it and if you enjoy it, make sure to check out "Seul contre tous".

I would say that this film is disturbing. The brutality is depicted in a very sick way, it's like a psychosis in 40 minutes. In the same time, it is a cruel introspection in human behavior. The scenes are ferocious, starting with the butchery of the horse and ending with the brutal sex scene in the kitchen. Every emotion is exploited to extreme, the frustration of the butcher, the love for his daughter almost incestuous, the rage when he finds out she has been abused, every feeling is so natural and so wrong. This film delivers the truth about human nature in a very honest and brutal way. The message of the film is that one's life can change in a second as a consequence of one's behavior and that the most primitive emotions are the most powerful and can determine one's acting. I'd loved the unique manner of filming, the simplicity and the brutality accompanied with the silence in which only inner thoughts pierce through.

This was my first Gaspar Noe movie I've watched and I have to say I was shocked. I don't mind gore in generally, but this isn't even gore , it's real butchering. For some of you a couple of scenes may be impossible to see and I mean really disgusting. Leaving aside these aspects, the main ideas revealed here and the dialog are quite brilliant. When you are given a strong argument against bringing a new life into the world and the manner in which it is given, you can't stop and take a minute to think about it. The actors did their job well, representing general masks of a handpick few people found at the bottom of a diseased society. The movie is full of metaphors, but I'll let you figure them out. Don't watch it if you want to have a lite, relaxing time. I recommend this movie to all those of you who want something to think about or simply watch something different of what you find in your average cinema.

The short film which got Gaspar Noe on the movie map, introducing us to his horrific, but thoroughly interesting character The Butcher, played brilliantly by Phillipe Nahon. Noe's direction here has all the hallmarks of his later films, showing he was carving his own voice and style from the beginning. His sudden cutting along with harsh, loud noise, skipping flashbacks and many other techniques all are used to disconcert the viewer. And it certainly works. Also, he is not afraid of showing violence, as viewers of Irreversible will know. Here the violence is equally powerful, and in the sequel Seul Contre Tous, it is almost unbearable.The film opens with a horse being killed. It is shot in the head, and we watch it writhe on the floor, its pool of blood flowing out. We then see a human birth in all its bloody glory, the daughter of The Butcher. He was orphaned in WWII, and has grown up hating the world, and everyone and everything in it. He serves his customers, but his interior monologue constantly reminds us of his thoughts- he wants them all dead. His daughter Blandine Lenoir, who would also reprise her role six years later, is the only thing he cares about, and we watch them grow older together. She is however mute, and the subject of bullying and toying. The Butcher's relationship with her is almost incestuous, bathing her when she is old enough to do it herself etc,but this is explored more in the next film. When she is attacked by a man, the Butcher explodes with rage, stabbing an innocent man in the mouth. He goes to prison, taken from the only things he wants- his shop and daughter. In the short 40 minutes we see all this and more, his time in prison and release back to his world. Because of his daughter's state, autistic as well i think, she is bland, does little except stare, and is under the full control of her father. The film continues in the exceptionally bleak Seul Contre Tous. If you can, watch these two films, this one first. It has some truly excellent acting, but is very difficult to watch because of the relentless tone.7 out of 10