I've seen this film twice already and I'm still ambivalent about it. On the one hand, Gaspar Noe obviously belongs in the "it-provokes-a-reaction-therefore-it-is-important" school of filmmaking; on the other hand, he has, as a director, full command of the medium - he WANTS to provoke a reaction from the audience (positive or negative, it probably doesn't matter to him), and he knows how to accomplish that. The movie is admirably unflinching in the way it portrays human desperation and degradation; you're not asked to like the main character or to identify with him, but you DO come to understand some of the circumstances that have led him to such bitterness against the world ("You have a home, a family, a car; after 35 years of hard work, I have nothing"). However, the ending of the film (or rather the way a very grim and sad ending is presented as if it's a glimmer of hope) is just plain vile. (**1/2)
Review of I Stand Alone
