An American drug dealer living in Tokyo is betrayed by his best friend and killed in a drug deal. His soul, observing the repercussions of his death, seeks resurrection.An American drug dealer living in Tokyo is betrayed by his best friend and killed in a drug deal. His soul, observing the repercussions of his death, seeks resurrection.An American drug dealer living in Tokyo is betrayed by his best friend and killed in a drug deal. His soul, observing the repercussions of his death, seeks resurrection.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 8 nominations
- Mother
- (as Janice Sicotte-Béliveau)
- Suzy
- (as Sarah Stockbridge)
- Carol
- (as Yemi)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the dialogue was improvised by the cast. Gaspar Noé stated that, as he didn't understand English very much, he needed someone to tell him if what the cast was saying sounded good or not.
- GoofsDuring the first sequence in the "Sex, Money, Power" strip club, the camera and jib/crane are visible in the reflection of the platform the dancers are on.
- Quotes
Alex: Basically, when you die your spirit leaves your body, actually at first you can see all your life, like reflected in a magic mirror. Then you start floating like a ghost, you can see anything happening around you, you can hear everything but you can't communicate. Then you see lights, lights of all different colours, these lights are the doors that pull you into other planes of existence, but most people actually like this world so much, that they don't want to be taken away, so the whole thing turns into a bad trip, and the only way out is to get reincarnated.
- Crazy creditsThe film begins with "ENTER", and ends with "THE VOID".
- Alternate versionsIn some countries, the theatrical release was shortened by omitting reel 7 of 9. This removed 17 minutes of material.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Durch die Nacht mit...: Harmony Korine und Gaspar Noé (2010)
- SoundtracksSalve Regina
Performed by Jez Poole and Martyn Warren
© ZFC Music
Courtesy of Universal Publishing Production Music
There is lots to like about ETV and much to dislike as well. An hour into the film and I would have given it perhaps an eight or nine but by the end of the film I was frustrated. Why? Noe just can't help himself and you get the feeling he either didn't know how to end the film or simply just wanted to be shocking for the sake of it.
Visually, I couldn't help but be impressed. Some amazing shots, lighting (strobe) and editing techniques. Noe also mixes up the story well as he did in Irreversible. You are not spoon fed the story and I love the way he told the back story of the two leads.
Plenty of people walked out at the screening after the hour and forty minute mark and I couldn't blame them. Probably not because they were shocked but just bored and frustrated. Noe pads this out and it is such a shame as overall it ruined the film as a whole.
The acting is quite wooden and doesn't ring true but that is only a minor quibble when compared to the film's bloated running time.
Hard to fault Noe for his creativity, energy and style and refusal to follow norms in terms of narrative structure etc. Still, I wish a friend or colleague had tapped him on the shoulder or given him some constructive criticism about the last half of the film.
I can only imagine how much footage Noe might add into a Directors Cut - Lord help us. Perhaps he could learn some lessons from this and streamline his storytelling and not feel the need to bludgeon the audience just for the sake of it.
- sharkies69
- Aug 4, 2010
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Vào Cõi Hư Vô
- Filming locations
- Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan(Studio)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $16,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $336,467
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $43,651
- Sep 26, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $806,517
- Runtime2 hours 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1