Enter the Void

CHICAGO – Gaspar Noe’s “Enter the Void” is one hell of a trip. Unapologetically inspired by experiences with hallucinogens, the film is such a unique, bizarre, and memorable experience that one has to recommend it simply for its audacity. You’ve never seen anything quite like “Enter the Void” outside of anime. The uncut version released on Blu-ray is too bloated, running nearly three hours, but there’s so much to like here that the film’s flaws can be forgiven.

CHICAGO – Some films never get a fair shot with audiences. They open in a handful of art house theaters scattered throughout the country before inconspicuously landing on DVD.

CHICAGO – “Dying would be the ultimate trip.” This line is uttered early on in “Enter the Void,” the extraordinary new film from Gaspar Noé, a director who enjoys referencing his previous work almost as much as his hero, Stanley Kubrick. This line pays subtle homage to the “2001: A Space Odyssey” poster prominently framed toward the end of Noé’s previous film, “Irreversible.”

CHICAGO – Few films have conveyed the sensation of an out-of-body experience quite like “Enter the Void,” the latest feature from French filmmaker Gaspar Noé, who continues to be one of the most controversial and innovative filmmakers in modern cinema.