Seul contre tous (1998)

Director:

Gaspar Noé

Writer:

Gaspar Noé (writer)

Release Date:

17 February 1999 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

In the bowels of France

Plot:

The Butcher (known from Noe's short film Carne) has done some time in jail after beating up the guy...

Plot Keywords:

Butcher | Mistress | Gun | Mother In Law | 1980s

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Philippe Nahon	...	The Butcher
Blandine Lenoir	...	His Daughter, Cynthia
Frankie Pain	...	His Mistress (as Frankye Pain)
Martine Audrain	...	His Mother-in-Law
Jean-François Rauger	...	Real Estate Agent
Guillaume Nicloux	...	Supermarket Manager
Olivier Doran	...	Narrator
Aïssa Djabri	...	Dr. Choukroun
Serge Faurie	...	Hospital Director
Paule Abecassis	...	Junkie
Stéphanie Sec	...	Female Hospital Patient
Arlette Balkis	...	Dying Lady
Frédéric Pfohl	...	Male Hospital Patient
Gil Bertharion Jr.	...	Bus Driver
Rado	...	Hotel Manager

Also Known As:

I Stand Alone (USA)
One Against All (literal English title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Germany:18 | Spain:18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Austria:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Company:

Canal+

Quotes:

[after the opening bar scene, the title sequence begins with the following in block letters: Les Cinemas de la Zone present the tragedy of a jobless butcher struggling to survive in the bowels of his nation]
[SEUL CONTRE TOUS, literally, Alone Against All, is displayed one word at a time as the narrator begins]
Narrator: To each his own life, to each his own Morality. My life?
[Various photographs, relevant to the narration are displayed, as the narrator continues]
Narrator: There's nothing to it. It's the life of a sorry chump. They should write that someday. The story of a man like so many others, as common as can be. It starts off in France, shithole of cheese and Nazi lovers. Our man is born near Paris in 1939. In '41 his mother abandons him. He'll never see her again. At the War's end, he finally finds our who his father was. A French Communist killed in a German death camp. He's now six years old. Inner turmoil is part of him. Meanwhile, an educator nabs his innocence in the name of Jesus. At the age of 14, driven by survival, he learns to be a butcher. For ten years he works around saving up penny after penny to pay for his market place. At 30, he succeeds and sets up shop in Aubervilliers. After a rough couple of years, his horsemeat trade gains momentum.
Narrator: At last he can start living. He dates a young worker and bursts her hymen at the Hotel of the Future across the street from the factory she works in. But events precipitate. Nine months later, he fathers a baby girl, Cynthia, rejected by the mother. She abandons them and he's forced to raise his daughter on his own. Years go by. The meat market struggles on. The butcher pays installments on a small flat. He raises his daughter, who's locked in muteness.
Narrator: She reaches puberty. She takes on shapes. The father, unwilling bachelor, must resist temptation. And that's when tragedy strikes. The young girl has her first period.
Narrator: Stricken by an unfamiliar pain, she heads for her father's shop. A worker tries to seduce her on her way over. A neighbor spots them and takes the girl to her father. Seeing blood on her skirt, he can only think of rape. He grabs a knife and takes off after the criminal. On a nearby construction site he sees another worker. The butcher stabs his knife into his face. The innocent man survives, the butcher winds up in jail and his daughter is placed in an institution. He writes a few letters to her. Months go by. The butcher is forced to give up his flat and shop. He's out of jail, but all is lost.
Narrator: To survive, he takes a job in a bar. He becomes the matron's lover. She gets pregnant and offers to sell her bar to start over from scratch, in another city. With the proceeds, she can afford to lease a meat market. Having no other choice, the man accepts.
Narrator: For the first time, he visits his daughter. He tells her goodbye. She watches him leave without a word. The next morning, he drives out of Paris with the matron hoping to escape the dark tunnel of his existence.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Irréversible (2002)

Soundtrack:

Klavier

Living without love

The movie shocked me, it made me feel sad, sorry and ashamed.

It shows how a potentially good human being can become bad due to the lack of love in our society. Society and it's egoism, loneliness, selfishness, and individualism affect all humans. Some more than others. This movie is a rather extreme example, but it is definitely what is needed to shake you and make this world a better place.

Some might interpret it as a useless display of bitterness and turn their head to keep on living their "comfortable" lives. Probably most will do that by fear of confronting such a terrible reality. With that attitude nothing will change.

I see the main's characters attitude as the natural consequence of a society without love, a society where everything is given in exchange of something (natural consequence of capitalism). Unfortunately people living afraid and with no love are everywhere. Their acts are a consequence of the extreme individualism and lack of interest of human beings towards others, hence the lack of care for themselves, hence the lack of love.

"Life is a selfish act". Unfortunately our society, or in other words ourselves, act selfishly. As long as that keeps on going the world will be a sad, boring and lonely place.

I have faith in humanity and in living in a world of care, respect, tolerance and responsibility towards the rest. Unfortunately we still have a looooong way to go.

I recommend it to everyone, specially the ones who do not like facing reality and prefer living in "comfort". They need it more than anyone. I give it a well merited 10.