If Irreversible was like a sledgehammer over the viewer's head, with it's grim, violent reality told in strobe light and spiraling camera, then Enter The Void is surely a neon bullet. More colourful, pulsating, feverish and hypnotic than the first film, Void is quite a trip. But where it raises the stakes visually, it's storytelling falls short.
This is coming from someone who doesn't 'like' Irreverible as much as admire it's power. It's not an easy film to sit through, and leaves an unshakeable feeling of horror well after it's over. I respect that, along with Noe's directorial talent in delivering it. In 'Void', I experienced a different journey, and one much less concerned with the characters floating through each scene.
Like the neon lights of Tokio, the people in this film were simply there; moving in and out of focus, part of the visual landscape. Once the colourful assault entered it's second hour, I found myself checking my watch, looking around the cinema, waiting for it to end. I didn't care about what happened to anyone hovering under each crane shot, I just wanted to straighten out, leave Tokyo, meet another human being instead of being chastised by all the lights. It was like being given a sermon on life and death by an acid freak in a nightclub; I needed a polite way of excusing myself and finding someone else to talk to. But there was no one else, only Noe.
Enter The Void is still in a league of it's own, still something wildly original in a universe of cinematic dreariness. It should be seen by anyone prepared to enter the unknown. But my god, how much more could it have been if it found it's footing on earth, as well as in the void?
This is coming from someone who doesn't 'like' Irreverible as much as admire it's power. It's not an easy film to sit through, and leaves an unshakeable feeling of horror well after it's over. I respect that, along with Noe's directorial talent in delivering it. In 'Void', I experienced a different journey, and one much less concerned with the characters floating through each scene.
Like the neon lights of Tokio, the people in this film were simply there; moving in and out of focus, part of the visual landscape. Once the colourful assault entered it's second hour, I found myself checking my watch, looking around the cinema, waiting for it to end. I didn't care about what happened to anyone hovering under each crane shot, I just wanted to straighten out, leave Tokyo, meet another human being instead of being chastised by all the lights. It was like being given a sermon on life and death by an acid freak in a nightclub; I needed a polite way of excusing myself and finding someone else to talk to. But there was no one else, only Noe.
Enter The Void is still in a league of it's own, still something wildly original in a universe of cinematic dreariness. It should be seen by anyone prepared to enter the unknown. But my god, how much more could it have been if it found it's footing on earth, as well as in the void?