Enter the Void

Enter the Void’s cinematography sets it apart as artistically unique from mainstream Hollywood cinema. The constant use of the point of view shot presents the birdseye view of a sould drifting in limbo, 'flying' so to speak--as referenced in the balcony scene where Oscar and his sister discuss death and flying as  unified in the after-life. This POV flight simulation through past and present is accompanied by an aesthetic theme of circular, spiral motion. Looking down at Oscar’s freshly deceased body, the camera begins to pan upward while rotating clockwise (producing a spiral effect). The circularity of the shots ties back into the overarching theme of cyclical transition from life to death to birth, going from one ‘void’ to the next. This cinematographic effect is used repeatedly throughout this 3 hour film that seemingly goes on for days—I couldn’t tell if that was an illusion to the discussion in the film about how 6 minutes on DMT felt like a lifetime, or if Noe was just unwilling to trim anything for time. The film could have still been successful at 2/3 the duration. I thought it was visually beautiful, but at times needlessly convoluted.