Enter the Void (2009)

I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down in Toronto's Bloor Cinema to watch Gaspar Noé's latest cinematic endeavour, Enter the Void. I'd been drawn in by a visually dramatic trailer, and was impressed at the presentation of the opening credits.

Enter the Void is seemingly an art-house movie, though perhaps it fits best into Noé's own description as being a "psychedelic melodrama." While some critics have described it as being self-indulgent "art porn" and lacking in any real substance, Enter the Void is all about substance, one substance in particular being the hallucinogenic drug DMT.

The landscape of ultra-modern Tokyo lends itself to the clash of neon hues and trippy effects protagonist Oscar encounters during his experiences with drugs. It's a surreal landscape, with veins of fluorescent lights running through almost every scene.

This is not a film for the faint of heart. It's lengthy, there are excruciating takes of strobe effects (which are seemingly there to simply mock the viewer), swirling imagery and uncomfortable situations that could make the average viewer cringe. The discomfort of these scenes highlights something eerie within the subtext of the film, a need and desperation within the central characters.

Enter the Void is a unique cinematic achievement. It lacks the structure of an absolute plot, but where it lacks specificity it makes up for in sheer ingenuity. While it would be easy to write it off as contrived, Noé delivers a unique premise with a sense of magic as well as fully realized sequences that illuminate the senses of the viewer. It's a film worth looking into if you have intestinal fortitude, an interest in psychedelic and about two and a half hours to spare.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars