Gaspar Noe.
Film & Sequence Workshop
Rogue Spencer
Gaspar Noe is an Argentinian film maker based in Paris, France, who tends to base his subject material on more confrontational matters. He is most well known for 'breaking the fourth wall' through his art making, to disturb and disrupt the viewer.
As noted in The New Extremism in Cinema From France to Europe (2011), T Kendall & T Horeck write: 'Noe can question the limits of cinematic representation and challenge boundaries of film censorship.' Noe's art making paved the way for film making that pushed social boundaries and adventured from traditional storyboards.
Devin Gordon within The New York Times mentions Noe's type of films can 'end relationships', as the overly-confrontational style would cause people in the audience to leave the cinema, and even faint from feeling overwhelmed.
'Enter The Void'
Noe's film 'Enter The Void'(2010) embodies the point of view of a drug dealer, Oscar, in a unique and challenging format. As it is shot in the heart of Tokyo Japan, the film captures a trippy and kaleidoscopic theme to help reinforce the blurred line between perspective and reality. Noe encapsulates his confronting style within this film as Oscar is seen entering sex dens, with substantial drug abuse and goriness, as one challenging scene shows an unborn fetus being aborted. as it depiThe film can be described as 'brain bending', as Noe utilises a first person perspective within filming to position the audience to question reality throughout the protagonist's spiritual journey.
My overall impression of this bathroom scene from the film ' Enter The Void' is that Noe's ability in capturing the characters point of view is very advanced, and is perfected in a way that the audience tends to feel uncomfortable with every minor movement.
Noe enables an experience of stepping into another dimension, as each blink and hand movement is captured. He also does not fail to include the 'head noise' of the character, as a background speech from the character creates a second voice to comprehend.
This scene in particular creates a unique way of 'seeing', as we view the first person perspective of a man washing his face and looking at himself in the mirror, whilst ending with a fish eye lens through a door to another person. As seen in the first snapshot, the man is seen touching his face, while the camera fades each corner to corrospond with the timing of his reflection. This positions the audience to almost feel as though they are taking on the character.
My overall impression of this scene within the film is that Noe has combined the use of first person perspective, a winding birds-eye view and hallucination patterns to depict the effects of a trip, through abusing drugs.
Oscar, the main character, is seen lighting and smoking a bong from the first person perspective. Noe makes the end of the bong and the lighter the focal point, whilst blurring out the rest of the image. He also enhances the sound effect of the bong bubbling and circulating, to ultimately prepare and outline the scene and how it will unfold to the audience.
This then transitions to a birds-eye-view, while spinning repetitively in a circle further and further away from Oscar, laying relaxed on the bed. Here, Noe illustrates the effects of the first puff of a drug, as Oscar's self is almost drawn from his physical being, while being trapped within a repeating circle-like whirlwind.
Noe then progresses to 5 minute long sequences of different coloured patterns and hallucinations, to complete Oscar's drug trip and enable the most realistic experience for the audience as possible. Watching these patterns and hallucinations unfold is uncomfortable, as I found myself loosing concentration and developing a slight headache.
Snapshot 1:
Composition: The water droplets are added to the composition in this scene when the main character splashes water on his face, so us as the audience experience the first person perspective.
Exposure: The harsh yet sepia - toned lighting is immediately hit in this snapshot, as previously before the characters hands are over his face when washing. This sepia theme contrasts with the water droplets that appear and enhances them within the shot.
Perspective: This is shot within the first person perspective of the main character, Oscar, depicting his reflection in the mirror.
Snapshot 2:
Composition: This image shows Oscars friend ringing the doorbell, as Oscar views through the door creating a fish eye effect. The entire shot is shadowed expect for the circled fish eye of Oscars friend waiting at the door.
Perspective: This scene is shot from the first person perspective of Oscar, the main character, while peering through to his friend.
Snapshot 3:
Composition: Oscar the main character is seen at a novelty shop in Tokyo, Japan, with all the glow-in-the-dark items shot within the frame when the shop owner turns off the light.
Exposure: The exposure within this scene is low, as Oscar's figure is completely black, which enhances the colourful patterns and glowing items in the background.
Perspective: This is also shot from the first person perspective of Oscar, yet from the back of his head rather than his internal character.
Gaspar Noe's art-making practice resonated with me, as his ability to read the city through a first person perspective within filming is unlike anything I have ever seen before. In formulating my own short film I attempted to take on the POV idea, by mimicking his first person shots, while also adding the changing perspectives of other spaces within a room. Throughout the editing process, I also noticed this approach I took adopted the same eery and mysterious theme Noe embodied within some of his scenes, as the interchanging angles and composition makes the audience question whats going to happen next.
SHORT FILM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaXTSGw_1Ag&t=12s
SHORT FILM DRAFT: https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive
Bibliography:
Noe, Gaspar - Enter the Void (Links to an external site.) (2010)
Withrow, A. (2020). the Directors: Gaspar Noé. From http://www.andsoitbeginsfilms.com/2019/03/the-directors-gaspar-noe.html
ENTER THE VOID (2009) - GASPAR NOE, Deptford Cinema. (2020). From http://deptfordcinema.org/new-events/2018/2/20/enter-the-void-gaspar-noe
Fernández, R. (2013). Enter the Void by GasparNoé. Diálogo, 16(1), 105-106. https://doi.org/10.1353/dlg.2013.0039
He Lives to Provoke. What Happens When His Film Isn’t Hated?. Nytimes.com. (2020). From
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/movies/gaspar-noe-climax.html.
