Enter the Void (2009)

Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void is one of those films that divide audiences: visually hypnotic, philosophically ambitious, and unapologetically experimental. With its neon-soaked aesthetics, first-person perspective, and hallucinatory storytelling, the film is a meditation on life, death, and rebirth.

Detailed Summary

Tokyo Nights: The Setup

The film follows Oscar, a young American drug dealer living in Tokyo with his sister Linda. From the very first scene, the camera locks into Oscar’s point of view, almost like a video game perspective. He lives in a dingy apartment, deals drugs, and is deeply attached to Linda, who works as a stripper. Their relationship is marked by trauma—they were orphaned as children after a car accident that killed their parents, a moment that haunts Oscar in flashbacks.

The Drug Deal Gone Wrong

One night, Oscar meets up with his friend Alex to deliver drugs at a bar called The Void. But the deal goes south: police raid the bar, Oscar locks himself in the bathroom, and while trying to hide the drugs, he’s shot dead by the police. This shocking event happens early in the film—yet the story doesn’t end there.

Out-of-Body Experience

After Oscar dies, the movie shifts into a surreal odyssey. His spirit leaves his body and begins floating over Tokyo. The camera glides endlessly—through walls, over neon streets, into memories. The visuals are hypnotic, evoking both drug trips and spiritual transcendence.

The Past and The Present Intertwine

Oscar’s spirit revisits key memories: the death of his parents, his promise to protect Linda, his bond with Alex. He sees Linda’s suffering, her descent into grief, and her toxic relationships after his death. Time folds in on itself—moments overlap, past and present bleed together.

The Cosmic Vision

As Oscar drifts further from the physical world, his journey grows stranger and more symbolic. The narrative echoes the Tibetan Book of the Dead, suggesting his spirit is navigating the Bardo—the state between death and rebirth. Neon lights morph into womb-like tunnels, and sexual imagery dominates, linking death and rebirth in an endless cycle.

Movie Ending

The final act is where Enter the Void fully embraces its psychedelic vision. Oscar’s spirit, detached from time and space, drifts into a climactic sequence inside Tokyo’s Love Hotel. Rooms filled with couples having sex become doorways to potential new lives. Eventually, the camera settles on Linda, who is having intercourse and conceives a child. Oscar’s spirit seems to enter the womb at the moment of conception, suggesting his reincarnation as Linda’s baby or as a new soul entirely.

The film closes with a surreal “rebirth” sequence: a glowing fetus in the womb, bathed in neon light, accompanied by the hum of Tokyo outside. The cyclical nature of life and death, and the blurring of love, trauma, and transcendence, culminate in this haunting finale.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No, there are no post-credits scenes in Enter the Void. However, given its structure and long ending sequence, many viewers have mistakenly thought the film was over before the final scenes in the Love Hotel. Once the credits roll, the journey is complete.

Type of Movie

Enter the Void is a psychedelic experimental drama with heavy influences from spiritual philosophy, surrealism, and arthouse cinema. It blends psychological drama with hallucinatory visuals, making it as much an experience as it is a narrative.

Cast

• Nathaniel Brown as Oscar
• Paz de la Huerta as Linda
• Cyril Roy as Alex
• Olly Alexander as Victor

Film Music and Composer

The soundtrack is a mix of electronic, ambient, and experimental tracks curated by Gaspar Noé and Thomas Bangalter (of Daft Punk), who contributed sound design and additional music. The score is less about melody and more about immersive, vibrating soundscapes that enhance the hallucinatory visuals.

Filming Locations

The film was shot almost entirely in Tokyo, Japan. Noé specifically chose Tokyo for its neon-drenched cityscapes, labyrinthine streets, and vibrant nightlife—perfectly mirroring the film’s psychedelic aesthetic. The city itself feels like a living character, pulsating with light and chaos.

Awards and Nominations

• Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (2009)
• Won the Best Cinematography Award at the Sitges Film Festival
• Gained cult recognition rather than mainstream awards, but is often cited for its groundbreaking camera work and daring visuals.

Behind the Scenes Insights

• Gaspar Noé spent years preparing the film after being inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
• The opening credits—flashing at high speed with loud music—were intentionally designed to feel overwhelming, like a drug rush.
• Noé used advanced motion-controlled rigs to create the seamless “floating camera” effect.
• The film was heavily influenced by his own psychedelic experiences with DMT.
• Paz de la Huerta reportedly struggled with the explicit nature of her role but later said the film was one of her most transformative experiences as an actor.

Inspirations and References

• Valérian and Laureline comics inspired Besson’s Valerian—wait, not this one! (Enter the Void is based instead on…):
  • The Tibetan Book of the Dead – primary spiritual influence.
  • Stan Brakhage’s experimental cinema – long takes and surreal visuals.
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Holy Mountain – films that merge mysticism with psychedelic visuals.
  • Noé’s personal experiences with drugs shaped the narrative’s hallucinatory tone.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

No official alternate endings exist, but there are extended versions of certain sequences (especially the Love Hotel scene) in longer cuts of the film. Noé originally wanted the reincarnation sequence to be even more explicit, but trimmed it for pacing.

Book Adaptations and Differences

The film isn’t directly adapted from a book but is heavily inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The main difference: the sacred text describes symbolic stages of the afterlife, whereas Noé reinterprets them through the lens of neon-lit Tokyo and a modern drug culture.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

• Oscar’s death in the nightclub bathroom.
• The camera floating through Tokyo after his death.
• The flashback of the parents’ car crash.
• The climactic Love Hotel reincarnation sequence.

Iconic Quotes

• Alex: “It’s like the Tibetan Book of the Dead—you know, the soul goes on a trip after death.”
• Oscar: “I promised her I’d never leave her.”

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

• The bar’s name, The Void, foreshadows Oscar’s death and spiritual journey.
• The camera sometimes blinks, imitating Oscar’s eyelids when alive.
• Neon signs in Tokyo spell out hidden words like “VOID” and “SEX” in multiple languages.
• The opening credits last nearly three minutes and contain subliminal imagery.

Trivia

• The film was shot mostly with digital cameras, rare for 2009 arthouse cinema.
• The camera movement was so complex that many sequences took months to edit.
• Gaspar Noé makes a brief cameo as a passerby in Tokyo.
• The film is notorious for causing motion sickness in some viewers.

Why Watch?

If you want a film that is more of a psychedelic trip than a linear story, Enter the Void is essential viewing. It’s a hypnotic, unsettling exploration of life, death, and rebirth—an audiovisual experience unlike anything else in cinema.

Director’s Other Movies

• Irréversible (2002)
• Love (2015)
• Climax (2018)
• Lux Æterna (2019)

Recommended Films for Fans

• Requiem for a Dream (2000)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• The Holy Mountain (1973)
• Spring Breakers (2012)
• Climax (2018)