Gaspar Noé Says ‘Love’ Went Viral On Netflix During The Pandemic Because “People Needed To Masturbate”

Director Gaspar Noé may not be at the Cannes Film Festival right now, that was last year, but that doesn’t mean he can’t steal the limelight with his typically salacious quotes. His new film is “Vortex,” a drama that boasts a cast that includes legendary Italian filmmaker Dario Argento (“Suspira”; read our review here). Still, he can’t help but talk about his semi-recent film, “Love,” an erotic, 3D, softcore-porn-esque romantic drama that went viral on Netflix during the pandemic.

In an interview with Vulture, the French director explained his perspective on “Love.” The film didn’t exactly set the world on fire when it was released theatrically, but it caught on eventually. Though Noé primarily contends its success was because people needed something to jerk off to during the pandemic.

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“People needed to masturbate,” Noé said, sharing his theory on the film’s popularity on streaming. “Now people don’t buy DVDs. So on the platforms, what was the most pornographic thing they could find, and also that had an artistic excuse? Of course, it was ‘Love.’ There are millions of people who saw it in France during the pandemic and in the States even more. They would never go to see an erotic movie in a theater because it was dangerous,”

“But it seems the movie was mostly seen on Netflix because it had a not very successful commercial release when it came out theatrically. And people were watching it many times because they needed some support for the masturbation. How do they masturbate nowadays now that ‘Love’ is not streamable? Which movie are they doing it to?”

Certainly a spicy answer to why folks would be viewing your work during the pandemic.

Here is the film’s synopsis if you’re not familiar, but essentially it’s a love story between three people, a man, his girlfriend, and another woman, and the heartbreak it eventually brings.

While studying film, an American named Murphy (Karl Glusman) has a blazing physical relationship with an artist named Electra (Aomi Muyock). Two years later, Murphy is living with Omi (Klara Kristin), the mother of his child, when he gets a frantic call from Electra’s mother, who’s searching for her missing daughter. Murphy then fantasizes about what could have been.

Not known for his massive support of the Hollywood blockbuster machine, the filmmaker surprised in the interview by saying he loved Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” which led to Joaquin Phoenix’s Best Actor Oscar win that year.

“I found one movie that I like from Hollywood. ‘Joker.’” he told Vulture. “I enjoyed it as much as I would enjoy the James Bond movies when I was a kid.” “Vortex” is out in theaters now.