Enter The Void/Interview2018
In an interview with IONCINEMA, conducted in connection with the release of Enter the Void, filmmaker Gaspar Noé discusses the aesthetic and conceptual principles behind the film, widely regarded as one of the most radical works of his career.
A Visual Design Conceived as a Sensory Experience
Gaspar Noé explains that Enter the Void was conceived primarily as a sensory and perceptual experience, rather than a conventional narrative film. The camera adopts an almost entirely subjective point of view, aligning the spectator with the perspective of the main character, Oscar. Following the character’s death, the camera detaches from the body and becomes a floating, disembodied presence, representing a form of lingering consciousness.
Tokyo was chosen for its intense artificial lighting and dense urban environment, which Noé uses to construct a visually saturated, hallucinatory atmosphere. The director embraces excess as a deliberate stylistic choice, aiming to provoke a physical response from the viewer. Extensive use of CGI and impossible camera movements reflects his intention to visualize mental states and perceptions beyond the reach of traditional cinematography.
A Narrative Freed from Conventional Structures
On a narrative level, Noé states that he intentionally rejected classical dramatic structures. Enter the Void unfolds through fragments, repetitions, and memories, mirroring the workings of consciousness rather than linear storytelling.
Time is stretched and destabilized, and the film resists clear progression or resolution. Noé emphasizes that the spectator is not meant to observe events from a distance, but to be fully immersed within a subjective mental space. As a result, the film functions less as a narrative in the traditional sense than as an experiential journey.
A Philosophical Reflection on Life, Death, and Consciousness
Philosophically, Noé cites the Tibetan Book of the Dead as a key reference, particularly its conception of an intermediate state between life and death. The film explores the possibility of consciousness persisting after physical death, without asserting any definitive spiritual or religious belief.
Themes of reincarnation, cyclical existence, and eternal return emerge in the film’s final passages. Noé also addresses the explicit depiction of sex, birth, and death, which he describes as fundamental human experiences often avoided in mainstream cinema.
The use of drugs within the film is presented not as spectacle, but as a means of altering perception. According to Noé, cinema itself functions as a consciousness-altering medium, capable of reshaping the viewer’s experience of time, space, and memory.