Climax (2018)

French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.

Director:

Gaspar Noé

Writer:

Gaspar Noé

Stars:

Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sofia Boutella	...	Selva
Romain Guillermic	...	David
Souheila Yacoub	...	Lou
Kiddy Smile	...	Daddy
Claude-Emmanuelle Gajan-Maull	...	Emmanuelle (as Claude Gajan Maull)
Giselle Palmer	...	Gazelle
Taylor Kastle	...	Taylor
Thea Carla Schott	...	Psyche
Sharleen Temple	...	Ivana
Lea Vlamos	...	Lea
Alaia Alsafir	...	Alaya
Kendall Mugler	...	Rocket
Lakdhar Dridi	...	Riley
Adrien Sissoko	...	Omar
Mamadou Bathily	...	Bats

Storyline

In the mid 1990's, 20 French urban dancers join together for a three-day rehearsal in a closed-down boarding school located at the heart of a forest to share one last dance. They then make one last party around a large sangria bowl. Quickly, the atmosphere becomes charged and a strange madness will seize them the whole night. If it seems obvious to them that they have been drugged, they neither know by who nor why. And it's soon impossible for them to resist to their neuroses and psychoses, numbed by the hypnotic and the increasing electric rhythm of the music. While some feel in paradise, most of them plunge into hell.

---

Plot Keywords:

gay | long take | dancing | sangria | little boy | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Music | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing content involving a combination of drug use, violent behavior and strong sexuality, and for language and some graphic nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French English

Release Date:

19 September 2018 (France)

Also Known As:

Climax

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

€2,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$119,423, 3 March 2019

Gross USA:

$804,112

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rectangle Productions, Wild Bunch, Les Cinémas de la Zone

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Sofia Boutella, scenes required four hours of rehearsal and over 13 takes each.

---

Goofs

Even though the film is set in 1996, the song Windowlicker by Aphex Twin is featured, which wasn't released until 1999.

---

Crazy Credits

The title of the film is the last thing to appear on screen.

---

Connections

References Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)

---

Soundtracks

Windowlicker
Composed by Aphex Twin (as Richard David James)
Performed by Aphex Twin
(c) Published by Chrysalis Music Ltd
(p) 1999 Warp Records Limited
Courtesy of BMG Rights Management (France) and Warp Records

User Reviews

Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut' ceremonial gathering scenes on bath salts

Gaspar Noé's 'Climax' is labelled as a "trippy drama horror musical." Not a lot of people read "trippy drama horror musical" and think "Now that's my kind of movie!" Indeed, most people will find the movie to be quite objectionable, but that certainly doesn't mean 'Climax' is devoid of artistic merit or accomplishment.

The film is a menagerie of dance, neon lighting, long takes, and astounding camera work, propelled forward by a pulsing EDM soundtrack that fills every scene with a frenetic energy. It may best be described as Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut' ceremonial gathering scenes on bath salts. If 'Climax' were a painting, it'd belong in the Modern Museum of Art.

We're not quite sure which drug one should be on to see the film, but some drug is definitely recommended.