Sunday, February 5, 2012

Enter the Void

via Incontention
Remember that really detailed rape scene in Gaspar Noé's Irreversible? You know the one, you couldn't look away at the same time that you did. And it just seemed to go on for hours rather than the few minutes? That came to mind while watching his 2009 film, Enter the Void. Not that the film is graphically violent like that rape scene, but that it's a train wreck. Hell, I don't think it's going overboard to say that Gaspar Noé just spent the last two hours of my life raping my mind, insulting my intelligence, and spitting on my love for movies (did I mention that he basically ejaculates on your face, as well? Those of you who've seen it, know which part I'm talking about). Unlike Irreversible, Enter the Void isn't worth the time, or the money - lucky for me, Netflix has it on Instant Stream.

The film, set in Japan, features a brother and sister relationship - should I have said bond? - that doesn't border on incestuous because they survive a traumatic event that took both their parents' lives. I say bond because every brother/sister film has some sort of sibling relationship that we see as common. The one featured in this film is a little more affectionate, obsessive, compassionate, clingy(?) because all they have is each other. Noé attempts to mix in the Tibetan Book of  the Dead into his storytelling, but fails to keep the story from getting lost. The idea of seeing the life of someone who has just died, the before, the after, the during, etc. is something that would normally pique my attention and leave me in awe. Noé, however, fails. He fails miserably.

It's an extended film school movie. It's the sort of film that people watch in college in order to pass off as deep, but it's really just a piece of shit. My advice is not to watch it. Pretend it doesn't exist and do something more meaningful with your two hours.

However, if you want to see for yourself, Enter the Void is on Amazon on DVD and BluRay.

Until next time, keep on huntin'.

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