trendaway.com

I don’t know how I feel about Gaspar Noé. He has a lot of skill, some pretty interesting ideas, great technique – and completely over-the-top shock-value that kinda makes you shake your head and think about how you could have totally gotten the point without all of the CGI-penises, 20-minute rape scenes and extreme violence. But then he wouldn’t be Gaspar Noé. He’d be somebody who wasn’t as seemingly arrogant and filthy who doesn’t make such memorable films.

Enter the Void (2009; written by Lucile Hadzihalilovic and Gaspar Noé; directed by Gaspar Noé) is probably one of the most visually striking films I have every seen. The opening credits were an attack and absolutely sets the tone. After they finished, there was applause. You can view them here. (I’m pretty sure, though, that the version of the credits I saw in the cinema was LFO’s music.)

The first act of the film takes place in real-time and had me pretty riveted, including the really long drug-trip that could have lasted anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. You’re inside this guy’s head as he takes drugs and trips out… you hear his thoughts, and see through his eyes. It’s quite some time before he looks into the mirror and you actually get a look at who you are.

The film seems to keep going on and on. You’re Oscar’s soul/spirit, and he’s either floating above Tokyo or you’re seeing everything (mainly memories) from behind his head. Somewhere in his past is an extremely loud and sudden car crash which is showed over and over again. It made me jump every time and I started to hate it.

It was a pretty exhausting experience, watching this film. Technically and visually it was stunning, but it was a total assault to the senses. As things were winding down (and I mean a wind-down of about 30 minutes), a bunch of us in the audience started to laugh. You really need to see it to understand what I’m getting at here.

My friend John was with me and he couldn’t take the attack on his body from the sights and sounds, so he went to go take a break and hyperventilate in the restroom. Then he entered the theatre and another car crash happened, and he was like “Ok, I’m out!”. Apparently he almost left me there, but decided against it, so I didn’t have to get myself home in the rain in the middle of the night. Thanks for the ride, John!