REVIEW: Enter the Void (2009): Needs to be experienced not watched.

Gaspar Noé tour de force in visual form. The film fell by the wayside for me. I knew about it when it came out by never watched it until now. Having seen Irréversible (2002), I had a vague notion of what to expect. Boundary pushing cinema.

The opening credits might even be considered an assault on the senses. Quickly flashing credits in a strobe like effect. Your ears assaulted with an almost helicopter like sound effect turning into some techno music. Great work by the editor of this and further allows no need for end credits.

The framework revolves around a drug dealer living in Japan. His parents were killed at a young age. He and his sister were separated and sent to different homes. Eventually, he makes enough money to fly out his sister to join him in Japan when he's an adult. The main character Oscar is eventually killed by the police and the true journey begins.

The film is loosely based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead. We even see the character holding, reading and discussing it in different scenes.

Once killed, he views himself from a third person perspective. His spirit or soul depending on your viewpoint is watching the aftermath of it all. The film uses a floating perspective throughout where it's viewing the world from different space and time respectively.

The viewer is transported into the body of others and different points in time. Childhood, when the parents were alive. The bond between mother and child. That too of siblings.

The film travels these paths is a rather coherent method. Given the unorthodox way of telling a story I was never left wondering what was happening. Sometimes art for the sake of art doesn't always work for me, but this certainly does.

Sound and color are a treat for the viewer and is evocative of Stanley Kubrick's 2001 at moments. Used to great effect with imagery that can put you in a trance like state. This film is best viewed in a dark setting allowing the colors to seemingly ooze out of the screen producing an amazing effect. Those that are affected by flashing/strobing lights be warned.

This is an experience movie. You need to be a mood where you're relaxed and looking for something different. The interpretation is up to you and can be viewed from many different angles. You may also have no interpretation and view it simply as a new experience. Either one works.

A quick glance and reviews are mixed as usual. People don't the characters, glamorizes drug use or don't like the visuals. To each their own. I see the opposite and was an enjoyable movie.

Rotten Tomatoes is giving it a 73% by the critics and a 71% by audience. This is interesting and I was expecting the audience score to be much lower. 10K ratings by the audience too. Maybe it's because it's over 10 years old at this point.

I would certainly give it a 7. A movie that is worth your time and will be fondly remembered by me. As with many films I enjoy, I will pull this out rarely and especially when I'm in the mood for an exciting trip.

The official trailer

The intro sequence I was mentioning

All images captured by myself from the original source.