Any half decent film should take you on some kind of emotive journey, and the cinema acts as a kind of host to this. Yet as soon as the film has finished you are turfed out on to the (invariably cold) street, and catapulted back in to stark reality.
When you’ve witnessed a film as emotionally harrowing as the one I saw last night, you need a little interim period (and a stiff drink) to regrgroup, and discuss what you’ve just born witness to. Perhaps cinemas should take a que from Bikram Yoga, and offer viewers a cosy and comforting seating area with candles and yogi tea?!....Or perhaps not!
Anyway, I digress. The film I went to see last night was called Enter the Void. I didn’t know anything about it, other than that the trailer looked quite cool. You can see it here.
The camerawork, pulsing rave music and strobing lights make you feel sick. The graphic subject matter shocks and the overall storyline is BLEAK, but the cinematography is visually really arresting and the acid rave colours and trippy patterns appear almost 3D.
The film is directed by French director Gaspar Noé, who also directed the equally shocking Irrevérsible, and The New York Times gives a really good review of it here.
Go see it, if you think you're tough enough...