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First Look: Gaspar Noe's Cannes Film Enter the Void

by Alex Billington
April 24, 2009
Source: Official Website

French filmmaker Gaspar Noé may only have made two films so far, but anyone who has seen either of them know that he's quite a profound director. Both I Stand Alone and Irréversible premiered at Cannes in 1998 and 2002, respectively, and it was just announced yesterday that Gaspar Noe's latest film titled Enter the Void will be premiering at this year's Cannes Film Festival as well. These photos primarily come from the official website that recently launched - SoudainleVide.com. A few of them are quite trippy, but that's because part of the film is a hallucination, and that's just the beginning. Read on to see the photos.

For those wondering what this is about, I've provided a synopsis beneath the photos that I created by combining a translation of the synopsis on the website and another translated explanation of the plot.

Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void

Enter the Void stars newcomer Nathaniel Brown as Oscar and Paz de la Huerta as his sister Linda. Now living in Tokyo, Oscar sells drugs to survive while Linda works as a stripper. Oscar is set-up and betrayed by his friend and fatally shot in a police raid. His spirit, faithful to the promise made with his sister to protect no matter what, struggles to leave the real world. Through the last moments of his life we see him leave his body and oversee everything happening simultaneously in the lives of his sister Linda and his friends. Past, present and future mix in a hallucinatory maelstrom that becomes increasingly chaotic and nightmarish.

This is one of my top priorities at Cannes, so I'm sure you'll hear plenty more on this in May. On the way over to France, I'm planning on watching I Stand Alone and Irréversible to catch up with Gaspar Noé.

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Related categories: First Look, Indies, Photos

Pete

Gaspar Noé is Argentian-born but he has french nationality. Photos are amazing !
http://www.firstshowing.net Christopher Campbell

I agree with Pete, I'd call him a French filmmaker. Also, the more correct adjective for someone from Argentina is Argentine. I could be wrong, but I think Argentinian is primarily used as a noun for the most part.
seance765

Can't wait looks awesome.
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/4120/sppunx06oa5.jpg Crapola

Looks mad, like cross processed film, haven't seen Irreversible, but know it's good from recommendations.
cine_phil

Sounds not bad, and indeed the pictures look interesting. Let's see how this works out.
http://movies.iconocritic.com/ peloquin

Hey Alex, could you come back to this post after you watch them and let us know if they're worth a watch? Or if anyone has a reputable review link I'd be interested to read it. This guy sounds like quite the foreign mind bender so I don't want to waste my time if his films are really convoluted and confusing.
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Don't worry, you'll hear back from me the moment I get out of it Peloquin!
Ben Wilson

This is the one I'm looking forward to. And I learned that it was set in Tokyo yesterday, which I think will really complement the Noe aesthetic. Now hopefully it won't take a couple years to shown anywhere domestic (Canada). Maybe TIFF. I wonder if there will be a trailer. Has any Noe film had a trailer?
http://www.lifeasfiction.com Rahat

A word of warning regarding Noe: He has one of the most unsettling styles of filmmaking in cinema today. Irreversible, which I thought fairly highly of, had my stomach churning from beginning to end. It's arguably the toughest to digest movie I've ever seen, though in retrospect, all the controversy surrounding it was unnecessary. Nothing in it was excessive, and everything needed for the story to be told in such an innovative fashion.
lumberjaw

Irreversable is a powerful, astonishing film. Maybe one of my favorites of all time...I just don't think I can handle watching it ever again.
Avoidoid

The Onion's A.V. Club has an excellent Write-up on Irreversible here: http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-new-cult-canon-irreversible,2497/?utm_source=channel_the-new-cult-canon
Joel Boychuk

@Ben Wilson: There is a teaser for this that can be found here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9blo6_teaser-of-enter-the-void-by-gaspar_shortfilms I'm excited for this largely because of the film's score having been done by Thomas Bangalter who also scored Irréversible!!!
Aleks

#6 - I Stand Alone and Irreversible are not just "worth a watch". There's a reason he always premiers at Cannes Film Festival. Not to mention Irreversible was named the best movie of Cannes 2000. If you can stomach it, they are brilliance embodied. Irreversible is one of my favorites of all time. I Stand Alone, I could not handle to re-watch but glad I've seen it. I believe any director who is able to make you literally, physically feel every scene of his film echoing in your bones as if it were happening to you, is beyond reviews and critique. Having met Paz De La Huerta I must say - giving her the honor to be in his film is the only disappointment in Mr. Noe I have had so far.
Aleks

And Peloquin, if you do however consider the non-linear "mind bending" a waste of time you should definitely pass on all of Noe's films.
http://movies.iconocritic.com/ peloquin

I can handle a certain amount of convuluted storytelling if it's done artfully and with purpose as some of my favorites are Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine, Synecdoche NY, and Waking Life, but I just wanted someone to vouch for this guy as a film maker before I jumped in head first. I'm all for an acid trippy flick if it's good...a good film is a good film no matter the style...
Nat

Gaspar Noe is the most gifted filmmaker France has produced in many decades. Irreversible is one of the greatest films ever made and has so much to say about violence in contemporary society and our reactions to it. The film is superbly acted on every level, especially given it was completely improvised. Never have I hated or been scared by a character so much as La Tenia, the horrid rapist. He is vicious, savage, and would make a serial killer beg for their life. Noe's films are something you cannot describe. They go beyond genius. His ability to assault the viewer with sounds and imagery is sledgehammer to the skull like in it's impact. The opening 40 minutes of Irreversible are a pure adrenaline rush and scary as all hell. You, simply put, are mesmerised. Not to mention the single most incredible finale to a film ever conceived. I Stand Alone was depressing but astoundingly intense. Nahon is a superb actor and brave as hell for playing the most despicable anti hero in cinema history. Watch at your own risk. Even Noe gives you an onscreen warning about the last 20 minutes, which while uncomfortable are intelligently directed. I can only presume Enter The Void will be an amalgam of the two masterpieces he has already given us. Not for the casual cinema goer, Noe's films remain audacious, arrogant and one of a kind. Just what he wants. No one has the courage to go even close to where this guy goes. It is his intelligence that makes his films so deeply layered and profound in their impact.