Enter the Void (2009)

I watched that movie last night. I was waiting for the end but the story reversed in abstract sequences again and again. The scene's clustered into cores to continued the hole story in a wild manner. Simply I can't leave it. "Psychedelic" would be the word to describe such beautiful title. In some sense I was getting confused but it was so simple to understand SEX MONEY POWER and LOVE. I scared of some ugly truth filmed like 'brutal' 'mental' 'torture'. Although I was addicted by its notions.

Cinematography is like playing a game with the camera and lights. I feel, I am inside the void loosing my control after taking drugs. Director can cut some frequent street and room shifting scenes that make no-sense at all. The movie is very lengthy. Overall it is a masterpiece..

I think it is not important to rate "Enter The Void". The title is suitable for 10/10 and 10/10. A masterpiece is a masterpiece... A personal thanks to the director Mr. Gaspar Noé. You kicked everyone's ass in your project.

Fmovies: Gaspar Noe gets a free pass from film festival directors and apparently (judging from the IMDb sample reaction) ignorant film fans with his intentionally provocative works. I've seen this dreck before.

With ENTER THE VOID we have a typical case of a film (or video)-maker infatuated with some technique and then running it into the ground. The floating "omniscient" camera p-o-v is unleashed early in the film after the first-person hand-held camera gimmick wears thin, and the viewer must suffer through it for over two hours, when Noe is not cribbing from "the ultimate trip", Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for his tedious light shows.

As a film buff old enough to have sat through 2001 several times in all its Cinerama glory, I can vouch for its trippy theatrical impact back in 1968; current fans do not have this opportunity so we don't have a fair appreciation of this masterpiece based on mere video screenings. Even given this advantage, Noe conjures here an ordinary rendering of the "cult of ugliness", making each shot pastel-pretty but with determined ugly = beautiful inversions. I would prefer an Abel Ferrara visit to the drug-infested gutter with his intrinsically gritty approach to Noe's SFX hokum any day of the week.

The bland anti-hero Nathaniel Brown was poorly cast, a dull presence in those few shots when we actually see him, and his sidekick Cyril Roy is embarrassingly there just to deliver exposition. Even in the most rudimentary, improvised XXX porn, I can't recall having the film's premise "explained" to me the way Roy lays out in detail the reincarnation theme from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and then, sure enough Brown goes through the out-of-body post-death claptrap as described. Paz de la Huerta is the recent indie flavor of the month girl (see: Jarmusch), but her lack of acting ability is evident, especially in her freakout scene here. In castng this eye candy role, anybody (read: any body) will do.

For porno content, Noe delivers considerable footage, none of which has the impact of real porn. Especially when compared to the work of Phil Prince, Joe Davian and other New York City pornographers of the '70s and early '80s, when s&m/b&d dominated (pun intended) porn features for a while, all fully documented on DVD reissues. Glamorizing then debunking the ecstasies/perils of the druggie life style is such an old hat concept in filmmaking that I'm surprised anyone gave Noe any credit for this rehash.

Parting shot: the infamous "penis entering vagina" shot in ENTER THE VOID is a corny ripoff of pornographer Luca Damiano, who has used this effect in numerous '90s porn videos, any one of which is more entertaining than VOID. Check out his EROTIC ADVENTURES OF RED RIDING HOOD for a prime example.

This was my first film at the Stockholm Film Festival, I don't mean to brag but Gaspar Noé got to use my umbrella when the reporters took photos of him in the rain, never going to touch that umbrella again...

First I have to say "Enter The Void" technical masterpiece. The use of the camera is creative and splendid and makes the whole movie as a roller coaster ride. The special effects are really, really special. I got hooked on these technical superiority's in "Enter The Void" that I got all thrilled down my spine. Watching it at the cinema really gave it an incredible touch. The sound was ear piercing and in some scenes it made me jump in the seat. It could go almost half and hour without any dialog, just remarkable scenes and CGI. You could think by this description it's a joyful and happy movie, but it's really not. It's dark, sea bottom dark. This movie have everything all parents wants to keep away from their children. I just get the feelings this movie would get so censored in America it would be a whole other film when showed over the ocean. But censoring this movie is fatal and would kill it. I certainly hope everyone is going to get sucked into the void just as I did.

It was a great experience, I can't deny it, but what made me put an 8/10 was the length. Sometimes Gaspar really could have made some shots shorter, there were unnatural long phases that were totally unnecessary. So that's why I give it an eight. Other then that I see no faults in this masterpiece. Go watch as soon as it shows up in a cinema close to you.

Enter the Void fmovies. So what could I add to what has been stated in the other reviews? Yes, 'Enter the Void' is definitely a trippy mindbuster, and as such anyone who requires story or frames to enjoy a film should give it a miss. Yes, the visuals are eye-popping and the ubiquitous stroboscope effects may cause severe nausea - I watched it on BR and couldn't help but thinking what an advantage home entertainment can be over cinema exposure. This is a film which may be best enjoyed alone, somewhat stoned or drunk, and very late at night. And the pause button is definitely a life-saver.

I can sympathize with those who felt tormented by the epic runtime and disparity between the first and second half of the film: the former is sort of a 'last film' of the protagonist Victor retelling his life, and therefore makes sense plot-wise, the latter is a meandering flow representing his attachment to his sister. It is a bit unfair to discard the film for this reason, though, because the dialogue between Victor and his best friend Alex in the beginning hints at what the nature and culmination of this attachment will be. The interspersed aerial shots of an increasingly CG-rendered Tokyo may actually put this transition into question - this could all very well be part of Victor's 'death trip'.

What I really liked about 'Enter the Void' is the setting, for I have lived in Tokyo myself for three years. The area where the story takes place (judging from where the CG puts the Tokyo Tower) should be Roppongi, which is an expat and night club haven; while the CG makes the place appear a bit gaudy, it is indeed populated by a disproportionate number of drop-outs and sleazy bees, and I've always wondered why there's no film about Roppongi yet - contemporary Tokyo is mostly condensed to the Yakuza backdrop of Kabukichô or the juvenile epicenter of Shibuya. So on that note, I appreciate a film about the expat world, as weird and dysfunctional as it may be.

'Enter the Void' pushes the gates of what film can visually do visually wide open, and therefore shouldn't be dismissed by any cinephile. But your viewing conditions will be crucial to whether you will love this film or hate it.

I attended the International Premiere of "Enter the Void" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Fans of director Gaspar Noé, whose film "Irreversible" created a significant following, will not be disappointed. At two and a half hours long, this film is definitely not for everyone. But I knew that going in and got exactly what I'd hoped for and more. It's trippy, dreamy, and mesmerizing and left me shaking my head in wonder many times. Startling and risky performances punctuate the dazzling visuals. The biggest surprise for me: "Enter the Void" has much more of a narrative than I was expecting. I was prepared for a cinematic acid trip, which I got, but there is an actual storyline which threads through the experimental camera-work and effects which are at the heart of the film. I highly recommend this movie but with qualifications, though. There is a great deal of drug use and some explicit sex but the film is compelling.

Where to start? I saw this film nearly a month ago at Melbourne International Film Festival. I haven't quite been able to shake it from my brain since! Firstly, let's get the negatives out of the was. The film is at least an hour to long and, especially in the latter half, at times ridiculously self-indulgent.

However, as a whole, the film has this dreamy, hallucinogenic quality that absolutely entranced me. I admire and respect "Irreversible" a great deal; however, the at times raw emotional quality of "Enter The Void" struck a greater chord with me as a viewer. I love the scene where Linda finds out Oscar has died. One of the best uses of selective focus I've seen in film in a very long time.

This is a film that demands to be seen in a cinema. Noe's command of sound and vision is truly astounding to behold. On both a physical and psychological level, he really gets you into the heads of the characters. Apparently, Noe spent two years planning the camera-work on the film. This sense of attention to detail definitely shows in the finished product. A month after seeing the film, moments and images of it are burnt into my brain.

I will be the first to say that "Enter The Void" is absolutely an acquired taste and definitely not for everyone. However, if you have the mind and sensibilities for it, I can't recommend it enough. While not as deeply disturbing as "Irreversible", it is,in many ways, infinitely more challenging.

I have always loved films that can push me, provoke me and take me somewhere I have never been before. "Enter The Void" does all three. I can honestly say that, in all my years of watching films, I have never seen anything quite like it.

Can't wait to see what Noe does next. This film proves he is truly an artist in all senses of the word.