Enter the Void (2010)

[Drunk Monk]

Dm suspects only a few of DOOM know DMT in the biblical sense as it is a very rare and powerful psychedelic. EtV begins with a big hit of DMT and captures the trip well, although at 2 and a half hours, it's like 5 or 6 times the length of a real DMT trip. It's a challenging film, very harsh and gritty. The psychedelic scenes are well done, all in all, but sometimes the stroboscopics are too intense and at several points, DM had to shield his eyes to avoid going into seizures. What is remarkable is the cinematography. It's shot sometimes from the viewpoint of the DMT tripper, sometimes through his eyes, other times with the back of his head in center frame. Then there's the trippy stuff - it's story centers around the Tibetan Book of the Dead's notion of out-of-body experiences, so it is often shot from a heaven's eye view, or perhaps a hell's eye view is more appropo although it is from above. The camerawork swirls around the rooms, penetrating ceilings and flies from building to building, then dives into lamps, gas stove burners, bullet wounds and vaginas. Oh, there's a lot of gratuitous sex too. Set in Tokyo amidst an overdose of neon, it does capture drug society fairly well at times, but gets very longwinded and caught up in itself (which in a meta-sense, is also quite drug oriented). I'm glad to have seen it, but still deciding if I liked it.

[cranefly]

Man, my reaction matches DM's in almost every way. Well, I've never done DMT or any other drug of note, so I can't comment on that aspect.  But wow, I was expecting something flashy but cheap, but this is deeply textured, deftly transformative, and visually stunning, with an ominous musical score that heightens the effect.

The director, Gaspar Noe, used non-actors in two of the main roles -- one of them the trippin' point-of-view lead.  As Gaspar explained it, he feared that a real actor might feel short-changed if he were filmed almost entirely from behind (just showing the back of his head).  I suppose that's true.  But Gaspar should have considered the viewer as well, who might feel short-changed watching a couple amateurs in pivotal roles.  The actors/characters are the weakest link in this film.  Gaspar tried to make the main characters sympathetic with a traumatic back-story, but the empathy needed to be sustained into the present, and I just had trouble caring enough about them.

Still, I'm glad I saw this, and even now I'm feeling the urge to revisit the swimming hypnotic visuals, especially in the later part.  And yes, while watching this film I kept thinking, "Man, this is beyond epilepsy," and kept wondering if some viewers ended up having seizures.

The extras include a list of the drugs featured in the movie, such as DMT.  When you click on one, it plays a 10-to-15-minute clip of the mandala-like patterns associated with that drug -- along with ominous music.  Can't vouch for the accuracy, but these were equally mesmerizing.

Gaspar Noe is a director of note.  I got sick to my stomach watching, I Stand Alone, and I probably should have gotten sick to my stomach watching Irreversible, though I didn't.  He can be deeply disturbing.  But wow, I'm starting to appreciate him as more than just a provocateur; he's a masterful director intent on breaking new ground, trying some truly unique things.