Enter the Void (2009)

Gaspar Noé is a director who stands out. With Irreversible (a movie which I have not seen) he has shown he’s not afraid of controversy. The movie had a rape scene which was close to 10 minutes and something that was hard to watch for a lot of viewers. With Enter The Void Noé attacks his viewers again, although less extreme (although there are still some very explicit scenes). It’s more an attack on your eyes and ears, which already begins when the movie starts. You’ll hear loud music and see a lot of flashes. The flashes are something that will return all during the movie, so if you are sensitive to them it’s better to skip the movie as you will get a seizure. Enter The Void is a movie that can’t be compared to anything else I’ve seen. I would almost describe it more as an experience instead of a film.

The reason it can be described as an experience is the way Noé uses his camera. The biggest part of the film is shown through the eyes of the main character, Oscar (Nathaniel Brown). You could call it a first person movie. As the viewer you are Oscar and sees what he sees. You are part of his experiences. You are sitting in his head as a passive invisible spirit. There are a couple of scenes that use a third person view, where you constantly see the back of Oscar’s head.

Oscar lives in Japan and deals drugs to earn his money. The thing is that he also uses them (he obviously never listened to Biggie’s Ten Crack Commandments), which results in some very trippy visuals. Because of the drugs the camera floats through buildings and walls, rotates heavily which sometimes makes you wonder how Noé has managed to film it all. There was a scene where one of the characters is running through an alley and the camera follows him above him, which looked stunning.

The story is a mixture of memories, dreams and reality, which sometimes is very hard to follow as a viewer. There are some shocks as well. It’s a movie you really have to have an open mind for to see and it’s not advised to watch it if you are tired as it’s just too much to take in. I would almost say that it’s possible to overdose on the visuals. As a viewer you keep getting bombarded by strange angles, quick cuts and a lot of strange sounds. When you’ve finished you could discuss what it all means, but one thing is for sure, it’s a very unique movie which I really think is worth watching if you are willing to give it a chance.