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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2011)
movies BY MOLLY TEMPLETON Dark Journey Gaspar Noe’s cinematic endurance test ENTER THE VOID: Written, fi lmed, edited and directed by Gaspar Noe. Director of photography, Benoit Debie. Editors, Marc Boucrot and Jérôme Pesnel. IFC Films, 2010. 137 minutes. Not rated. 44411 T hough far less of a challenge than his 2002 fi lm Irreversible — the story of the aftermath of a brutal rape, told backwards — Gaspar Noe’s latest, Enter the Void, is still something of a cinematic endurance test. More than two hours long and prone to repeating images and scenes, Enter the Void is a disconcerting experience, by turns sweet, creepy, off-putting, trippy and predictable. But Noe isn’t looking to surprise you with the fi lm’s fl imsy narrative, which is essentially spelled out by a character who, early on, summarizes The Tibetan Book of the Dead for a friend to whom he’s lent a copy. What happens after you die? Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), an American living in Tokyo and making a living dealing drugs, is about to fi nd out. The fi rst half-hour of Enter the Void rolls out as if Oscar is the camera; we’re inside his head, complete with distracting blinks, as he talks to his sister, Linda (Paz de la Huerta), and indulges in some of his stash. The psychedelic jellyfi sh he sees hover in the space between beautiful and horrifying, cliché and cleverness, but just as I started to fear that I was in for two hours of the trippier parts of MTV’s mid- ’90s program Liquid Television, everything changed. As in Irreversible, Noe sends his camera spinning and looping, on long shots that are as languid as they are uncomfortable; with it, we dip into the heads of men, fl y over buildings and swirl down wells of strangeness that only grow stranger as the fi lm progresses. Light strobes and perspectives shift after the camera is freed from Oscar’s head. Most of the fi lm is a nonlinear look at Oscar’s past, which rears up in fi ts and starts, tracing his complex relationship with Linda, his drug-focused existence in Tokyo and the choices that defi ned his life — and had indelible effects on the lives of those around him. In the fi lm’s second part, it’s not just the camera that’s cut loose from Oscar’s immediate perspective; Oscar himself becomes detached from his body, viewing his past and his friends’ present from a dreamlike, omniscient viewpoint. Maybe Oscar is helpless, in thrall to his subconscious, or maybe he’s still making choices: what to see, where to go, how often to relive the moments of violence, of indulgence, that now look like signposts along a dangerous road. 290 River Rd | 86784 Franklin Blvd | 720 Garfield 541.688.5411 | www.e - adultshop.com The Very Little Theatre presents Henrik Ibsen’s searing play about one man’s lonely struggle against ignorance and official corruption, adapted to the early 1970s Pacific Northwest using a brilliant new translation by Christopher Hampton. “The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone” Directed by James Aday Jan. 14-16*, 20-23*, 27-29 *Sunday Matinees Tickets: $15 ($10 for Thursday) Call 541-344-7751 Box office open 2:00-5:30 Wed.–Sat. 2350 Hilyard St. More info at TheVLT.com Visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheVLT 20 JANUARY 6, 2011 EUGENE WEEKLY Though for long stretches it’s as dreamy and absorbing as it can get — and I can only imagine it’s all the more so in a dark, distraction-free theater — Enter the Void isn’t without Noe’s penchant for jarring, peculiar and surreal imagery and perspectives. As Oscar’s long, strange journey goes on, it darkens and tangles; a horrifying accident in the siblings’ childhood recurs without warning, a blaring surprise every time, and a young woman’s pregnancy test results bring a very different (and somewhat too arty) result than they did in Irreversible. When Oscar starts seeing the doors of light his SEASON OF THE WITCH PG13 11:50, 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50 GULLIVER’S TRAVELS PG 12:05, 2:25, 4:45, 7:05, 9:25 LITTLE FOCKERS PG13 12:25*EXCEPT SAT 1/8, 1:40, 2:55, 4:10, 5:25, 6:40, 7:55, 9:10, 10:25 TRON LEGACY 3D PG SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 TRON LEGACY PG 11:30, 2:30, 5:30, 6:05, 8:30, 9:00 YOGI BEAR 3D PG SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 12:05, 2:25, 4:45, 7:05, 9:25 YOGI BEAR PG 1:15, 3:35 CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN 3D PG SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 11:50, 2:35, 5:20, 8:05 CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN PG 12:45, 3:30, 6:15, 9:00 THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST NR ONLY ON SAT 1/8 AT 10 AM MORNING GLORY PG13 12:05, 2:35, 5:05, 7:35, 10:15 THE SOCIAL NETWORK PG13 12:45, 3:50, 7:30, 10:20 JACKASS (2010) R 1:05, 3:25, 5:45, 8:10, 10:25 JACKASS (2010) 3D R SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $2.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 7:25, 9:45 LIFE AS WE KNOW IT PG13 12:55, 4:20, 7:10, 9:50 SECRETARIAT PG 12:40, 4:00, 7:05, 9:55 RED PG13 12:25, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30 ALPHA AND OMEGA PG 1:50, 6:30 LA PHILHARMONIC LIVE: DUDAMEL CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN NR ONLY ON SUN 1/9 AT 2 PM HOOD TO COAST EVENT NR ONLY ON TUES 1/11 AT 8:30 PM THE FIGHTER R 11:35, 2:20, 5:05, 7:50, 10:30 HOW DO YOU KNOW PG13 11:40*EXCEPT SAT 1/8 & SUN 1/9, 5:10, 10:30*EXCEPT TUES 1/11 THE TOURIST PG13 2:30*EXCEPT SUN 1/9, 7:55*EXCEPT TUES 1/11 TANGLED PG 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:20 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 PG13 12:40, 3:55, 7:10, 10:25 Cinéarts THE KING’S SPEECH R 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10:05 TRUE GRIT DIGITAL PG13 11:35, 2:15, 4:55, 7:35, 10:15 BLACK SWAN R 12:00, 2:35, 5:00, 7:30, 10:00 DESPICABLE ME PG 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:15, 9:30 DESPICABLE ME 3D PG SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $2.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 12:35, 2:50, 5:10 EASY A PG13 12:10, 2:25, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40 INCEPTION PG13 12:20, 3:40, 7:00, 10:10 LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE PG 4:10, 9:00 LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE 3D PG SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $2.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 12:00, 2:30, 4:55, 7:40, 10:00 friend described to him hours before, they look nothing like you’d expect, and Noe has one more camera trick up his sleeve — one that tips the scales on his long fi nal sequence. Enter the Void’s ideas fl oat through the fi lm as weightlessly as Oscar’s spirit; there’s a shred of devotion, of childhood trauma, of the way connections defi ne us and shape our choices, but in the end, it all feels like a twisty odyssey of cause and effect. You pick this path, you reap these results — until you’re brave, or stupid, or lucky enough to leave it all behind. ew Enter the Void opens Friday, Jan. 7, at the Bijou. Adv. Tix on Sale THE GREEN HORNET Adv. Tix on Sale THE DILEMMA COUNTRY STRONG (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(155) 435 725 1005 SEASON OF THE WITCH (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1200 230) 500 730 1000 THE KING'S SPEECH (R) - ID REQ'D Fri. - Sun.(1140 255) 630 935 GULLIVER'S TRAVELS IN REALD 3D - EVENT PRICING (PG) ★ Fri. - Sun.(1155 210) 430 700 920 TRUE GRIT (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1135 1205 220) 415 505 715 745 950 1020 LITTLE FOCKERS (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1215 245) 515 755 1025 THE FIGHTER (R) - ID REQ'D Fri.420 PM 1010 PM Sat.(1235 PM) 705 PM Sun.420 PM 705 PM OC: THE FIGHTER (R) - ID REQ'D Fri.(1235 PM) 705 PM Sat.420 PM 1010 PM Sun.(1235 PM) 1010 PM HOW DO YOU KNOW (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.640 PM 930 PM YOGI BEAR IN REALD 3D - EVENT PRICING (PG) ★ Fri. - Sun.(1240 300) 510 730 955 TRON: LEGACY (PG) Fri. - Sun.(1145 AM 235 PM) TRON: LEGACY IN REALD 3D - EVENT PRICING (PG) ★ Fri. - Sun.(1245) 410 710 1015 THE TOURIST (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1225) 400 645 925 CHRONICLES NARNIA: VOYAGE IN REALD 3D -EVENT PRICE (PG) ★ Fri. - Sun.(1220) 440 735 1030 TANGLED (PG) Fri. - Sun.(1150 225) 450 720 940 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS 1 (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1130 250) 635 945 Adv. Tix on Sale THE GREEN HORNET SEASON OF THE WITCH (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(210) 440 730 1010 TRUE GRIT (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(130) 410 700 950 LITTLE FOCKERS (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(200) 430 720 1000 GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (PG) Fri. - Sun.(150) 450 705 930 TRON: LEGACY IN REALD 3D - EVENT PRICING (PG) ★ Fri. - Sun.(100) 400 650 940 CHRONICLES NARNIA: VOYAGE IN REALD 3D -EVENT PRICE (PG) ★ Fri. - Sun.(110 350) 640 920 TANGLED (PG) Fri. - Sun.(140 PM) 710 PM YOGI BEAR (PG) Fri. - Sun.420 PM 945 PM GULLIVER'S TRAVELS IN REALD 3D - EVENT PRICING (PG) ★ Fri.(345 PM) 640 PM 845 PM Sat. - Sun.(130 345) 640 845 THE TOURIST (PG-13) Fri.410 PM 710 PM 935 PM Sat. - Sun.(115) 410 710 935 BLACK SWAN - DP (R) - ID REQ'DFri.400 PM 700 PM 930 PM Sat. - Sun.(100) 400 700 930 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS 1 (PG-13) Fri.(350 PM) 650 PM 955 PM Sat. - Sun.(1245 350) 650 955 Times For 01/07 - 01/09 © 2011 WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
