"Enter the Void" Opening Credits

"Enter the Void" is an experimental movie--filmed in a first-person point of view throughout--by Argentinian director Gaspar Noé. I saw this movie on Netflix a couple of months ago and decided to watch it because the poster was really colorful and I had nothing better to do with my life. Don't judge me.

You have to admit.. that's definitely an eye-catcher.

Anyway, "Enter the Void" is a really cool film in a lot of ways. The viewer sees what appears to be one continuous shot of the protagonist's spirit floating around Tokyo at nighttime. It's an intriguing premise, but my favorite part of the movie, strangely enough, is the title sequence. The opening credits make a good first impression, and they're really... intense. If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself. (Use full screen for best results.)

So yeah, I thought this was cool and it really shows how much of a tool opening sequences can be. They can essentially set the tone for the rest of the movie, as is the case here. After watching the opening credits for the first time and then being immediately transferred into the eyes of the protagonist, it definitely allowed me to retain a level of anxiousness and adrenaline throughout the first few scenes of the movie.

However, in my opinion, "Enter the Void" is very flawed. Its run time is just over three hours long, contains many extended experimental sequences of abstract imagery, and features way too many "overhead shots" where the camera is pointing downward from the ceiling. Sometimes the camera work can be really disorienting as well.

Either way, I think all of the live action students should check out at least the first half hour or so of it. It's just really interesting to watch and kind of changed the way that I thought about how movies can be made. We're starting to create in a world were there are virtually no boundaries to what we can make.