Monica Bellucci's most talked about movie scene
Irreversible: the film that shocks again, but in a new version
The film by Argentine Gaspar Noé, with Mónica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel, sparked controversy over s*xual violence, as it did almost two decades ago. Although now his narration is the other way around than the original.
17 years ago, the film caused scandal and even outrage. It was at this same Venice Festival, in 2002, that Irreversible, by Argentinian Gaspar Noé, shocked critics and the public. The film starring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel had a brutal r*pe, but the story was backwards. Marcus (Vincent Cassel) and Pierre (Albert Dupontel) are desperately looking for the attacker of Alex (Monica Belluci), Marcus's girlfriend and Pierre's ex-girlfriend.
Noé's film received a lot of criticism, but it also became a cult favorite, both for the way the plot was narrated and for the brutal r*pe scene that lasts no less than nine minutes in a fixed shot.
Now, in a new edition of the Mostra, a renewed montage recounts the terrible s*xual assault, but in the conventional chronological order.
When the film was released, Bellucci and Cassel were dating and exuded sensuality and glamor throughout the world. It was one of the most famous European couples.
Almost 20 years later, the director and his protagonists stepped on the red carpet in Venice again, but Bellucci and Cassel are no longer a couple. And the relationship between the two, who have two daughters in common, is quite strained.
Frenchman Cassel was not alone at the Festival: he was accompanied by his new partner, the 22-year-old model Tina Kunakey, and their young daughter. For her part, the Italian actress, went alone, without her boyfriend. And she reflected on the role she played then: "I don't think I would do it again. I have to think about how this would affect my daughters now."
Bellucci's concern makes sense. At its premiere, many people left the projection room frightened by the explicit violence of Noé's film. And there were those who called her unnecessarily morbid and cruel. However, many specialists stressed that the best thing about the film was the story in reverse. Almost two decades later, it continues to arouse controversy.
