In an RTL interview with Gaspar Noé, who is currently in Luxembourg for a masterclass, he reveals that he’s working on a few possible ideas for his next film, but hasn’t made a decision as to what his next project might be. He has, however, teamed up with Yves Saint Laurent studios who will be funding whatever he does next.
In that same chat, Noé admits he doesn’t watch much television, nor is he subscribed to any of the streaming services, but, after being told, by numerous people, to watch Sam Levinson’s “Euphoria,” he finally decided to buy the DVD boxset and watch it ..
Over the last 10 years, I’ve only seen two TV shows. I watched "Chernobyl", which is only four episodes, so, 4 hours. I found it to be very good. I also kept being told, “you have to watch “Euphoria”, it’s something that you will love”, but since I’m not subscribed to any of the platforms, I found the DVD box set with18 episodes. I watched all 18 episodes in the span of a weekend. I absolutely adored it.
It’s not that shocking to learn Noé loved “Euphoria.” It’s a highly stylized and provocative series, and those are the same adjectives one could described Noé’s own films, which include “Enter the Void” “Climax” and “Irreversible.”
Noé goes on to criticize the current state of American filmmaking. He says that these days there’s a lack of creative disobedience and cynicism on the part of U.S. directors and that it pales in comparison to the peak of American cinema, the 1970s:
Where’s the next “A Clockwork Orange,” Straw Dogs,” “Deliverance”? Only A24 is making transgressive films these days, but mostly in the horror genre […] The most cynical auteurs, like Todd Solondz, are having a hard time finding funding for their films. Solondz’s films have always had me hurling in laughter.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I don’t think I’ve ever written my thoughts on “Euphoria.” Maybe it’s because I wasn’t as enamored by it as others have, but also found a lot of great things to like about it. “Euphoria” is so well-directed, stylized, acted, but some of the story beats it takes just don’t work.
It’s the most hit-and-miss show I’ve seen. I find some episodes to be completely hypnotic, whereas others can be strenuous and and obvious, at best. Also, I was not down with the last two episodes of the last season — sure, they were narrative risks, but the gimmick just didn’t work.