Vortex
dir. Gaspar Noé · 2021
Feature
Mental Health Struggle
Mood
Melancholic / Contemplative
Look
claustrophobic, disorienting, with a focus on close-ups and stark lighting
Structure
non-linear, fragmented, with a focus on subjective experience
Plot
Lui, a struggling author with a heart condition, and his wife Elle, a retired psychiatrist, find their idyllic life shattered when Elle begins to succumb to the effects of dementia.
Why watch
Lui, a struggling author, grapples with the reality of his wife Elle's encroaching dementia, as their once-idyllic life begins to unravel. Watching this film is like being drawn into a dreamlike state where time bends and the boundaries of memory blur, leaving you to confront the fragility of existence and the haunting echoes of love lost.
Cultural context
aging populationsocietal views on mental healththe stigma of dementiathe fragility of memory