Hyper-sexual movie ‘Love’ takes Cannes by storm

THE Cannes Film Festival got its first taste of full-blown controversy yesterday after a late-night session with director Gaspar Noe’s hyper-sexual 3D tale, Love.

The movie leaves nothing to the imagination as it tells the story of a young couple’s tempestuous love affair, featuring over a dozen extremely graphic sex scenes, including orgies, a threesome and a transvestite prostitute.

Such large crowds showed up for the midnight screening that dozens of ticket-holders had to be turned away and arguments broke out outside the Grand Palais theatre.

“For years, I have dreamed of making a film that would fully reproduce the passion of a young couple in love, in all its physical and emotional excesses,” Noe said ahead of the screening.

The audience gave a long standing ovation at the end of the film, but many critics seemed unconvinced by Noe’s “blood, sperm and tears” vision.

“Like bad sex, [it] seems to go on forever with no climax or ending in sight,” tweeted Sophie Kaufman, of Little White Lies magazine.

The Argentine director, who lives and works in France, said he wanted to transcend “the ridiculous division that dictates no normal film can contain overtly erotic scenes, even though everyone loves to make love”.

In 2002, a screening of Noe’s film Ir reversible at Cannes led to several ambulances being called for audience members who could not cope with a graphic rape scene.

BBC film critic Jason Solomons said it was “definitely not a porn film -- the dialogue’s not up to that level”. Variety said: “You’ve gotta hand it to Noe for leaving no taboo unturned . . .” It is not yet clear if the film will remain uncensored when distributed abroad.