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

5 wins & 7 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.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | lsd | long take | sangria | little boy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Music | Thriller

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Apart from the opening choreographed sequence, everything in the film was improvised.

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Goofs

While the movie is supposed to be set in 1996, which is confirmed by the clothes, the music and the lack of smartphones, the French spoken in the film is very much 2010s, with many anglicisms or other recent verbal tics heard throughout the movie. This is due to the improvised dialogue from the cast working off of a five-page script.

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Quotes

Selva: Oh, you're so good! Thank you, thank...
Psyche: You liked it?
Selva: I'm so happy. I couldn't be happier.

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Crazy Credits

The credits begin with "A CEUX QUI NOUS ONT FAITS ET QUI NE SONT PLUS" ("to those who made us and who are no longer" in French), followed by "VOUS AVEZ VU UN FILM TIRE DE FAITS REELS SURVENUS EN FRANCE AU COEUR DE L'HIVER 1996" ("you have seen a movie taken from real events in France in the heart of winter 1996").

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Connections

Referenced in Sardonicast: Sardonicast #30: Climax, After Hours (2019)

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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

Gaspard Noé : his best and worst

After an incredible 20 minutes opening, Gaspard Noé seems to be himself and put a movie that could be a masterpiece into a boring provocative piece of art. By the half of the movie, you won't discover anything you already seen in Gaspard Noé's movies. Still, the filming of dance and the idea that dance is art language is interesting.

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:

EUR2,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$119,423, 3 March 2019

Gross USA:

$817,339

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,027,391

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rectangle Productions, Wild Bunch, Les Cinémas de la Zone

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1