Finally got around to watching Gaspar Noé's "Love". I still see it as though Gaspar has some sort of an obsession with sex and other taboos. It's definitely one of his motifs. The film had some unnecessary scenes, I think. I know the selling point of this film was supposed to be that it represents sex "in a joyous way" and everything revolves around the theme of "Love". Before seeing this I imagined that there would be more lust than love. And I believed this while I was watching it up until the last 40 minutes or so of the film. I think the film is more about thinking that you're in love, being fooled by your feelings, without realising that it was probably just lust. But then the twist seems to be that once Murphy lost Elektra, he realised how much he loved her. I personally hated his character for the first half of the film, and this is a trend with many of Noé's male protagonists in his films. But he has some strange way of making you sympathise with them in the end. That happened here. I've only just finished the film and it's almost 3am, so I'm still processing the ending of the film with a tired mind. But Elektra's chatacter often doubts Murphy's understanding of Love. And I too doubt his view of love. I'm still questioning whether or not there was any love between them, or if it was just a tornado of lust. I wish there was less sex and more character development or some more exhibition of whether or not they seemed to have some sort of mutual understanding and respect. Also the acting in some parts seemed a bit dry and awkward, which contributed to me doubting whether or not they could even hold up a normal conversation as lovers or even close friends. But the film's focus is sex and the importance of love. And seems to, from what I have perceived, question what love is for people, and how it can be quite subjective with different people placing value on different aspects of what they saw as being "love". It's also pretty clear that inviting that girl into the threesome set off a chain of events that led to (possibly both characters, but from what we were actually shown...) Murphy being unfaithful. I've seen some interviews with Gaspar Noé and it seems he understands love as being something that can be shared with multiple people (not just one sex partner).. Or at least that's the vibe I got from it. And I wonder if he is trying to show such a form of polyamory in a positive light in this film. It's something I'll have to consider when I'm not so tired, and maybe after a second viewing. But I feel that it was the threesome that led to the unfaithful activity of one or more of the characters. This led to Murphy and Elektra's breakup and Murphy's emotional breakdown/depression which we are shown towards the end. Which would make me assume that polyamory is being shown negatively here, as it appears to destroy their relationship.. Pushing them further into lust to the point that they breakup, and it is only then that Murphy supposedly understands the importance of love.. Once it is too late. There are some genuinely good and warm scenes in this film. Sometimes I felt like the two of them may have actually been lovers, but most of the time I had my doubts. The soundtrack and cinematography, as always were great, maybe less experimental and chaotic than his last two major films, but still quite interesting and very Gaspar Noé-esque. Plenty of references and similar vibes to his earlier films too. But I feel this is still his weakest film out of "I Stand Alone", "Irreversible", and "Enter the Void". I wasn't particularly disappointed but I'm not a fan of this one. I continue to respect, but not quite understand Gaspar Noé, but damn is it fun trying to analyse and understand him. Some say this is a porno hidden behind the veil of an art film. Lars Von Trier's film, Nymphomaniac was far more pornographic, but also had a reasonably interesting plot and artistic merit. And I see more art film than porn here in "Love", but there were still a few sex scenes that dragged on. I'm sure I had more things I wanted to mention but I'll probably sleep on it for now.
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