SPOILERS (marked):

Review:

Enter The Void entered a major buzzkill at around 20min with

Spoiler

the death of the protagonist (i mean, his dumb shouting "i have a gun!" was quasi-suicidal).!!protagonist reincarnating as his sister's babe I guessed once she hooked up with the bearded Leary reader!!incest hints, and traumatic childhold

...not fun, not really interesting. No wicked humour or stylish psychedelia to offset it. No cool music either. Tokyo? Apart from the neon, we barely knew her.

What was good? I enjoyed the immersive sweeping camera and 'point of view'. I liked the moody drone soundtrack. Potential to shoot a proper psychonaut film in this kind of style. But when I psychonaut myself, sex is often far from my mind. So much other stuff going on that - in the moment - is far more interesting. Gaspar Noe failed to tap into that.

I understood what he was going for, i just didn't enjoy it. 5/10. Props to the unique\* roving camera style and potential, but cannot fully recommend overall.

\*i say 'unique'...however i was reminded of the style Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up video from 25 years previous was shot in.

What did yous think of Enter The Void?

I’m not really the best person to respond cuz I’ve never seen the movie but isn’t it about a death induced dmt trip and not a consensual psychedelic experience? I feel like the former would be more dread and horror influenced than the latter

“Sleaze, Sex, and Sleaze” is a good title for a Gaspar Noe 101 course. Alternatively, “I’m14AndThisIsDeez(Nutz)”

I don’t have much to add except that I’m completely with you here. At best, with Noe you might get an interesting stylistic choice along the way, but at worst, you won’t even get that. I am completely baffled that his films continue to get any serious attention at all, and I say this as a semi-defender of edgelord adjacent directors like Von Trier and Korrine.

I saw it years ago so I’ll share what stayed with me after all this time. I recall I dug the movie, with standouts being the bust scene at the club, the hanging out at the apartment, and the road accident moment.

I have a question for you, though, OP.

Can you tell us a bit more about psychonaut culture/practices and what you were hoping to see in the film?

Would your opinion change if you had read about the reincarnation cycle in Tibetan Monk text?

Because this movie is not a psychonaut adventure. It 100% follows the The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

So please reevaluate then come back to us after finding out this information. Now I know that this isn't something that's super obvious but at the same time it is something you can look up and find very easily so.........

If you read my review, you would know I made the Leary connection.

a 'death induced dmt trip' should be more interesting than this.

This is like Requiem For A Dream trauma-porn.

I was impressed by the aspects of the movie, but ultimately, I kinda thought it was both pretentious and unsubtle. It also just lingers in the margins between scenes for way too long. The transitions are effective the first few times, but they get old fast.

The guy just comes out and discusses the Tibetan Book of the Dead in the most unnatural way at the beginning. There's nothing wrong with characters discussing the themes of the movie, but sometimes you hear the writer's voice too much. In one of the last scenes, the sister screams "YOU ARE EVIL" at another character, and it stood out to me how bad the dialogue was.

Very pretty to look at, but it really feels languorous in execution because it dwells on its own prettiest shots.

When psychonauting (as opposed to just getting hedonistically high) one attempts connection and understanding of the psychedelic aspects of the trip: analysis and appreciation and 'sinking into' the visual/audio/mind trip. There's an immense sense of enthusiastic wonder and giddy excitement.

Sex, trauma and re-living seedy stuff is far from the mind of the psychonaut. It's more seeking 'the fantastic'. What are those fractals about? Why does music separate like that? Why do I feel one with the cosmos?

I went into Enter The Void blind, by the title I was expecting a psychonaut movie...but we got a depressing sleazy reincarnation trip instead.

Laudably filmed. But not my cup of tea.

Upvote from me.

Gratuitous Sex scenes are lazy and honestly feel like a power-move from the director. Notice we hear only the women groan in excitement? The last 20min sounded like an actual porno.

My favourite sex scenes in movies are when they are essential to the plot: like in Oldboy (2003) or Terminator (1984).

agreed....and honestly the japanese strip club manager wasn't even that evil. Sleazy, sure... but hardly evil.

Leary connection? WTF are you talking about? There is NOTHING Leary about The Boom of the Dead.

Are you not aware Leary wrote his version of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, thereby introducing its core concepts to Westerners? Gaspar Noe was directly inspired by it.

I mentioned in my OP I went a step further and read his Design For Dying, which goes into fascinating abstract psychedelic detail about the concept of dying and death and post-death.

Here: connections between the original book, Leary's take, and Enter the Void:

https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/focus%20on%20-%20gaspar%20no%C3%A9/2022/05/08/enter-the-void/

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181016-how-lsd-influenced-western-culture

https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/20534/1/the-da-zed-guide-to-acid-cinema