I Stand Alone

Following the life of the most disaffected, disillusioned, alienated, resentful, hostile and unbalanced middle aged man that has ever carried an image on a screen - but is he alone, and can all the factors he believes brought him to this nadir of all nadirs actually be correct, that there was little or nothing to be done, with the cards he was dealt as a child, the hands he had to play during his formative years, set in stone, to fatefully be performed in only one way, as unsatisfying an existence that could ever have walked this earth, beaten by the state, society, its structures and its rules.

You won't come away with a smile on your face, or at least not until you realise that there's always someone worse off than yourself. A painful watch at times, but it comes with the director's territory.

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.

Man, that movie was intense. I saw Irreverisible a while back and just discovered this film. As I tried to rate it I have to admit that if a film effects you in the way this movie just did then there is something to it. I know many people who would be disgusted by this film and simply say they did not like it, it was a "bad movie." The reality is that every movie doesn't have to be uplifting and make you feel good. All I know is that I feel extremely alone and weird at the moment, independent of anything going on in my life. In that way, I think the film did its job. To an extent, the main character is so sick and jaded that one doesn't exactly relate to him or identify with the character. At the same time however, for those of us that don't experience life as rosy and joyous all the time, there is an element of utter pessimism that one can relate to. In a traditional sense, not that much actually happens in this movie. The majority of it is filled with an inner dialogue and scenes of people just sitting around.

I suppose it's odd for me to say that I like this film, but as I said, I think it did its job. The soundtrack was well done and the acting was thoroughly convincing. If you can deal with "depressing" and disturbing movies, I'd give I Stand Alone a shot. If not, rent Big and go to bed feeling nostalgic and hopeful about the future.

Good, well-directed French film in the vein of TAXI DRIVER, where an out-of-work, 50-year-old butcher slowly begins to lose control with the people and the world around him as he encounters one indignity after another. Unable to find a job no matter how hard he tries, having to contend with abuse from the fat and controlling dominant woman he lives with just because she has a few dollars, facing the burden of having fathered an illegitimate girl who now lives in a home and is unable to communicate, the tensions mount until the butcher is in danger of taking his frustrations out on himself and the miserable scum around him. The butcher's bizarre feelings and motivations are translated to us through what he's thinking, instead of relying on talk.

This is a brutal, honest, powerful movie that pulls no punches and draws the viewer into the mind of the man slowly going over the edge. Many people will be able to relate to feeling as lost and hopeless as he does, at least at some dark point in their lives. Here is a foreign film that succeeds in staying consistently interesting and captivating, despite its not having a plethora of special effects and pretty young teen stars (which so many recent American films seem to require). *** out of ****

A brilliantly disturbing film, unlike anything I have ever seen. This is an incredibly detailed account of how a disturbed human mind rationalizes everyday reality. It's like looking right into the mind of a man pushed to the brink, a man capable of anything. The film darkly builds as we watch the main character fall lower and lower, becoming more and more desperate. I love a movie that can capture an emotion so strongly, and this film defiantly grabs you and does not let go. The tension literally drips off the screen making it difficult at times to take, but like a car crash, you can't take your eyes off of it.

Noe's direction is excellent. The pace is slow and methodical and cut up with a surprising sound affect that makes you jump almost every time you hear it. This just adds to the disturbing, uneasy atmosphere that the film creates.

Its a trip that not all people should take, but those of you how are not easily offended, and have a strong stomach and a good eye for art, you should go far out of you way to see this film.