I Stand Alone

The inner turmoil gets worse.

After watching Gasper Noe’s latest film Enter the Void (2009) a revisit to his debut film I Stand Alone (1998) was overdue. Interestingly the French title is Seul contre tous, which actually means Alone against all, which is probably a better description of the main character known as The Butcher. This is a stark and real study of one mans inbuilt hatred towards the whole world. His inner turmoil was brought on following a prison sentence for stabbing a man in the face whom he suspected of assaulting his beloved daughter. Realising that he had now lost his butchers shop and that his daughter had been put into an institution he falls into a loveless marriage eventually loosing control of him self which resulted in beating his pregnant wife so severely it killed her unborn baby.

Noe’s debut film I Stand Alone (1998) is about a middle-aged ex-con and former butcher who’s plagued with racist and misogynist thoughts and has a very violent temper. This film concluded with a 30 second gap to allow the squeamish to leave the cinema before the climax. Philippe Nahon, beat known for his roles in French horror and thriller films, stars as the butcher. Nahon can also be seen in Noe’s second and better-known movie, Irreversible (2002). Most of the film’s dialogue is spoken in voice over by the main protagonist and any sudden movement accompanied by what sounds like a load gunshot. A film made to cause its audience emotional disturbance, probably not a film for mass consumption, but highly recommended as are Noe’s following two movies.