"ENTER THE VOID" boggles my mind

Last week, I saw Gaspar Noe's new film, "ENTER THE VOID". Having seen his last film, "Irreversible", which was some difficult combination of hard-to-watch shock and completely original filmmaking. While I have some real trouble describing the film, because it is simply so out there, I do recommend seeing it. You will see filmmaking elements, both technical and content-wise, that I have never seen implemented before. It's truly cutting-edge art, whether you like it or not. My friend, upon the film's ending, turned to me and said: "I need some time to process what I just saw."

The "story" follows a young American drug-dealer/addict living in Tokyo with his sister, who works as a stripper. The film cuts back and forth between their childhood, the drug-induced present, and "life" after the protagonist's death from his POV as a ghost. It is bizarre to say the least, and each element uses its own style: the flashbacks show everything from directly behind the protagonist's head, while the present show's everything from an extremely well-done first-person perspective. The sequences after the main character's death are filmed in a dreamy, floating manner, by which the camera flies through the air, around people's heads, and over the neon city of Tokyo.

Visually, it is a feast par-none, and the film looks nothing like any other film ever made. I can make that argument with a good deal of confidence. Content-wise, I wouldn't say it has a lot of socio-political impact, such as a film like "La Haine". It has a lot more to do with the existential ideas of life, death and love.

I highly recommend it, but only if you're the sort of person who gets a kick from seeing someone really push the boundaries. If you're looking for a more entertaining film, I'm not sure you'll walk away pleased. At least a few people walk out in every screening - I'm sure they're thinking "What the hell is this movie?"