Enter the void

Let’s go back to business with one of the most memorable opening credits ever:

This is a perfect example of, “if you really dislike the credits, don’t go further or you might spend a really bad time...” Actually from the first second, everything goes fast, very fast. It’s a ‘tripping’ epileptic model with scary techno music. Flashy colours, strobe lighting, titles that melt, struggles, blends; it’s a burst ‘titling’. Too much information puts your brain on stand-by. Saturated pupil, you’re like hypnotized, swallowed, digested, choked, expelled and suddenly: THE VOID 

The tone is given and the director Gaspar Noé seems to know  precisely what he wants: warning, this is not for epileptic people. Moreover the type is evocative of a very specific time around the mid-to-late 1990's. It’s the period of rave music as well which suggest the 1990's cultural nostalgia.

It’s the story of two young American siblings living in Tokyo. The brother is a little drug dealer and he is killed by the police. However, his spirit refuses to leave the living world and he reappears as a ghost to keep his promise and watch over his sister. His ghost wanders in the city and his visions become more and more chaotic and nightmarish. Present, past and future are mixed up in a crazy hallucinatory whirl.

The film is a “UFO”, never seen before. It’s a two and a half brilliant and demanding hours of a crazy trip, a personal interior adventure. The film is more about sensory experiences and unconsciousness tracking than pure storytelling. I don’t think I could easily recommend the film to the faint of heart though, but good or bad, the experience is always worth being lived. It won’t leave you unconcerned, you will love it or hate it...

Despite all the bad reviews about the message of the film, no one can deny the creativity of the director. And recently, Kanye West used it in his last video clip with Rihanna for the song “All of the lights”

Legal proceedings for plagiarism are ongoing and the Epilepsy Action association is trying to remove the clip from the internet as it could be dangerous for epileptic people!