3. Seul Contre Tous/I Stand Alone (1998)
Why it's controversial: I Stand Alone is not for the faint of heart. It is a movie that packs a punch with a capital P. Following a few days in the life of an unemployed Horse butcher who has just been released from jail after killing an innocent man whom he thought raped his retarded daughter. Objectionable material is rife in this film. The Butcher has sex with a fat lady who runs a tavern he drinks in. He manages to impregnate her and moves in with her and her bitchy mother. Sickened from incessant nagging, the Butcher snaps and gives the fat lady the pounding of her life - stomping down on her pregnant belly with vehement hatred. At the end of the movie, he has sex with his retarded daughter rationalising it by saying their love is too pure for society to understand.
Why it's good: The Butcher's monologue is so misanthropic, so misogynist, so hateful and scornful of society and everything in it, it becomes highly amusing to listen to his bile filled rants. The sleazy underbelly of Paris is depicted as a cess pool and the problem of living on virtually thin air is suspensefully portrayed. Gaspar Noe's direction is lively and quirky, it detracts from the doom and gloom (which would be pretty unbearable if the film was shot straight) and gives great energy to the film. I love the "Warning" bit at the end which is a nod to B Movie tomfoolery. I also admire the fact that Noe really struggled for funding during the shooting of the movie, but never gave up and he was able to give us this jewel of a crusty, grimy portrait of a Lowlife wreaking havoc in I Stand Alone.