This is one of the most astonishing films ever made. It’s a bold statement, sure, but chances are you’ll have never seen a movie as original, or visually incendiary, as Enter The Void.

Dealing with birth, death, and the frequently fucked-up nature of the events that fill the space between them, it’s the ultimate psychedelic head-trip.

The plot isn’t hippy-dippy fantasy nonsense, though, because it’s anchored in reality and bathed in the neon glow of a sex- and narcotics-fuelled Tokyo. A young drug dealer, who’s been shot by the cops, lies dying.

He remembers that he made a pledge to his sister when they were children that he would never leave her, so his body remains on the ground while his spirit takes flight over the city. The nightmarish trip sees the siblings’ past, present and futures collide with sense-searing intensity.

As with writer/director Gaspar Noé’s other extreme masterpieces, particularly Irreversible, his vision is so compelling you won’t want to miss a single frame.

Once again, Noé proves he doesn’t see his work as just entertainment, but as a means to push cinema’s limits and make audiences think about what they’re seeing.

While Dervish-like camerawork treats the eyes to an experimental frenzy of colour, it’s the film’s precise emotional dimension and menacing atmospherics that provide the biggest punch. And with everything shot from the protagonist’s point of view, you don’t so much watch proceedings as immerse yourself in them.

Billy Chainsaw

Gaspar Noé

What was your inspiration for Enter The Void?
I wanted to see a movie I hadn’t seen before, which came from personal experiences, or things I wanted to experience but couldn’t. I believed I could have an out-of-body experience by hypnosis or breath-control, or a similar process. I tried some little exercises but they never worked.

The film is almost spiritual. Do you have a sense of wonder?
Yeah, I’m curious. I believe in science. Stanley Kubrick believed that his brain was his best friend, which is why he didn’t do drugs, but he still wanted to do a spiritual movie so
he made the ultimate religious opera (2001: A Space Odyssey). My movie isn’t an opera, but it’s a trip; I managed to portray sensations, feelings and visuals associated with what happens when you’re on mushrooms or LSD.

Have you taken drugs?
I’ve tried a few recreationally, and I’ve also done some for research. I thought about Enter The Void for many years and I decided I couldn’t make a psychedelic movie without taking psychedelics. But I always took them in a safe way, in the right context, with the right people. When it came to making the movie, I stopped taking drugs because I didn’t think it’d be helpful to play with my brain. I needed every cell.