Le Temps Detruit Tout
Like many of Gaspar Noé's films, Irreversible is controversial and horrific in its depiction of sexual and physical violence, which has made it hard to see (or, as some have put it, unwatchable).
A large number of spectators left the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 during the film’s screening. People said it "wasn't a film", and if that's the case, then why is it showing at the festival? At first look, one could even come to agree with this...but Irreversible is a "film" and a significant one that offers an interesting philosophical and intellectual argument.
The phrase "Le Temps Detruit Tout" is spoken by a character who had previously appeared in two Noé films prior to Irreversible. However, we will not be discussing this character here; instead, we will return to the statement. Considering this sentence and its meaning, the sentence translates to, "Time destroys everything." Taking this sentence into consideration along with In the narrative form of the film, it is possible to take the film seriously intellectually and philosophically.
The presence and clarity of cause and effect is an important element of the conventional film structure. It is the idea that everything that takes place has a purpose and ultimately leads to the next event. The film Irreversible does a good job of maintaining this, but it goes even further than that. It turns it around.
The plot of the film irreversible is told in reverse. As we'll see, the very first scene of the film serves as the story's climax.
As with the subsequent Noé films, the film opens on a street where the camera floats . It then takes us into a room where two men are chatting. And it is at this very moment when the words "Time destroys everything" are said. They talk about their perspectives on what constitutes good and evil, arguing that there are no deeds that are fundamentally good or wicked; rather, there are only actions.
The next action unfolds on a street outside a building called "Rectum." A man who is unconscious is carried out onto a stretcher and subjected to insults from the onlookers. Subsequently, another man comes out from the building, and the police detain him.
We learn that the "Rectum" is a BDSM Gay Club and that the two are on the hunt for a guy named "La Tenia" in the subsequent scene, where we see them entering the building together. His friend Pierre, who had been arrested, came to his rescue and brutally killed the man with a fire extinguisher after Marcus, who had been on a stretcher in the previous scene, clashed with someone who they suspected of being La Tenia. The man broke Marcus's arm and attempted to rape him.
In the following scene, Pierre and Marcus are in a cab, and they want to know the address of a place called "Rectum." Everyone who has watched the film up to this point should be able to understand how the movie works.
They are joined by a gang of young men in the street as they search for an individual identified as "Guillermo Nunez" in the following scene. After some time, we learn that the individual is actually a transgender prostitute named Concha, and they start questioning her to find out where "La Tenia" is. Following considerable physical force and threat, she finally reveals that he is in a location known as "Rectum."
The following scene finds Pierre and Marcus in shock and breakdown, standing in front of police and paramedics. Marcus is asked by the young man from the previous scene if he wants retribution, and the answer is yes.
After then, we see Marcus and Pierre standing outside what appears to be a house after a party. A woman on a stretcher emerges from a tunnel, and they witness her. As soon as Marcus lays eyes on her, he recognises his girlfriend Alex and learns that she was raped in the tunnel.
After Alex exits the party, the following scene finds her flagging down a cab. A passerby informs her, "The tunnel is better," as she makes her way across the street. In order to cross the street, she heads to the tunnel. She is terrified of the red tunnel, but she is also fearful of someone striking someone. As we move closer, we see that Concha was the one questioning her. At first, she is accompanied by La Tenia. Upon seeing Alex, he immediately leaves her and proceeds to beat, abuse, and rape her in an extremely tough scene that lasts approximately eleven minutes. Here we find out that the man who died wasn't La Tenia; in fact, he was the one who saw them fight in the opening of the film.
Alex, Pierre, and Marcus are shown during the celebration in the subsequent scene. Alex decides to leave the party and walk alone after Marcus treats her outrageously while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
In the subsequent scene, we observe the trio boarding the metro to reach the celebration, during which we find out that Pierre was once in a relationship with Alex.
In the following scene, we observe Marcus and Alex enjoying a romantic morning together. Alex shares a dream in which she was in a red tunnel. At the end of the scene we know that she is pregnant.
The film concludes with kids playing, and this is where the line, "Time destroys everything," appears again. The film ends with Alex reading a book about dreams in a garden next to the house. This scene also happens to be the first event in the story.
From this point on, we can ask as why the film is structured this way, or perhaps more precisely, as to what would have occurred if it had been presented in a chronologically.
If "Irreversible" had followed a more conventional plot, it may have been another violent Rape & Revenge movie or one dealing with the aftermath of a horrific act. Nevertheless, This is only the beginning of Noé's pessimistic perspective on life and human beings.
Noé is well-known for his films that are considered to be part of "The New French Extremity," which is a movement that prioritises addressing the ugly qualities of mankind rather than blaming or repairing them.
"Time destroys everything" is Noé's attempt to express his pessimistic outlook on life through this film.
We mature, get sick, and go through tough times because of the passage of time. The film Noé elevates the viewpoint through its narrative structure. After witnessing this tragic day, "on the contrary," we do not react positively to the film's third act, which is filled with joy and love. Characters are shown to us, and we are aware of their fates. Still, it remains unknown to them... Time, according to this argument, annihilates not only the future but also our perceptions of the past. Time destroys everything.