Enter the Void was a movie going experience I had anticipated since I first caught wind of it. From the little I knew about the film (which was in fact very little, as far as I can remember I knew it was *maybe* about life and death with some birth/rebirth thrown in, this all being presented to viewer as though one was under the influence of hallucinatory drugs and experiencing these situations with the main character(s) as the film progressed) it seemed like something I may enjoy but then at the same time it could just be a cheap mind fuck that leaves me with a headache in the end.
So which one was it? Well....
On one hand this experience was unlike any other movie that I have watched in the past. It is a large dose of experimental film , if that's not your bag then pass on this one. The Void drags you (more like "floats" you as the film goes on, more on that later) through neon lit Tokyo on a journey that goes beyond what most mainstream movies concerning similar subject matter would care to come close to. Needless to say, Gaspar Noe has some balls and I tend to respect a director who is not afraid to let their pair hang out, especially in a field where most directors are ball-less due to neglect. But what about the overuse/abuse of flashing lights and the near three hour length? Are these the sort of examples I like when talking about a film having balls? Nope. How about a plot? There is a loose plot with the same recurring characters but overall I feel as though all of that is the sub-plot for the actual plot which I am not completely sure of but here goes: (*spoilers??*)
Seizure inducing (prefix to all scenes) credits (that are pretty cool) -- DMT, Good times, bad times, tripping balls, party time, some fucking, flashbacks of family trauma, getting too high, the law- death, --interlude-- floating POV (neat) which may/may not mimic being on the receiving end of an astral projection with the "silver cord" keeping the camera at bay, bright orange lights flickering constantly, transparent buildings, more flashing lights, fighting, hyper-color sunburst fellatio, headache inducing lights, tons of fucking +(finale) POV from vagina then POV from sperm, birth, nipple , blackness - the end. There is also a really amazing scaled down model of tokyo in the movie.
Ok, sure, I probably left something out and am not giving Enter the Void the story-crafting credit it deserves (though, all funny business aside, the entire plot is foreshadowed several times in about thirty seconds of dialogue) but who gives a shit, this movie is more about the visual experience which pretty much ended up giving me a headache in the end but I voluntary went on the ride and was anxiously wanting to turn the next corner all the way to the very end. I also dozed off for a couple minutes in the middle and somehow feel this added to the film, which is pretty strange for me. Several times throughout the movie I kept thinking of Tetsuo: Iron Man, another visually assaulting experimentalish movie that felt a tad to long at a somewhat short 67 minutes. Enter the void is nearly *three* hours long...enough is enough, really, I get it., well actually maybe I don't - but I got "it" in one hour.. I can do three hours of Lynch but not of Noe. I don't think I would watch this film again and yet still recommend it to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting because that it is; very unique but like Noe's breakthrough movie "Irreversible" once is enough due to the mental and visual pounding one receives while watching.
So which one was it? Well....
On one hand this experience was unlike any other movie that I have watched in the past. It is a large dose of experimental film , if that's not your bag then pass on this one. The Void drags you (more like "floats" you as the film goes on, more on that later) through neon lit Tokyo on a journey that goes beyond what most mainstream movies concerning similar subject matter would care to come close to. Needless to say, Gaspar Noe has some balls and I tend to respect a director who is not afraid to let their pair hang out, especially in a field where most directors are ball-less due to neglect. But what about the overuse/abuse of flashing lights and the near three hour length? Are these the sort of examples I like when talking about a film having balls? Nope. How about a plot? There is a loose plot with the same recurring characters but overall I feel as though all of that is the sub-plot for the actual plot which I am not completely sure of but here goes: (*spoilers??*)
Seizure inducing (prefix to all scenes) credits (that are pretty cool) -- DMT, Good times, bad times, tripping balls, party time, some fucking, flashbacks of family trauma, getting too high, the law- death, --interlude-- floating POV (neat) which may/may not mimic being on the receiving end of an astral projection with the "silver cord" keeping the camera at bay, bright orange lights flickering constantly, transparent buildings, more flashing lights, fighting, hyper-color sunburst fellatio, headache inducing lights, tons of fucking +(finale) POV from vagina then POV from sperm, birth, nipple , blackness - the end. There is also a really amazing scaled down model of tokyo in the movie.
Ok, sure, I probably left something out and am not giving Enter the Void the story-crafting credit it deserves (though, all funny business aside, the entire plot is foreshadowed several times in about thirty seconds of dialogue) but who gives a shit, this movie is more about the visual experience which pretty much ended up giving me a headache in the end but I voluntary went on the ride and was anxiously wanting to turn the next corner all the way to the very end. I also dozed off for a couple minutes in the middle and somehow feel this added to the film, which is pretty strange for me. Several times throughout the movie I kept thinking of Tetsuo: Iron Man, another visually assaulting experimentalish movie that felt a tad to long at a somewhat short 67 minutes. Enter the void is nearly *three* hours long...enough is enough, really, I get it., well actually maybe I don't - but I got "it" in one hour.. I can do three hours of Lynch but not of Noe. I don't think I would watch this film again and yet still recommend it to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting because that it is; very unique but like Noe's breakthrough movie "Irreversible" once is enough due to the mental and visual pounding one receives while watching.
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