Do not see this film because you've heard it's trippy or visually stunning, unless you have some interest in the afterlife as envisioned in the Tibetan Book of the Dead as filtered through the creative mind of Gaspar Noe. In fact, the opening credits are probably the trippiest thing about the whole film and they're over in an amazingly fast two minutes. Again, I don't think even the opening credits were intended to blow the viewer's mind as much as just wake him up for what follows.
And what follows is basically 2.5 hours from the afterlife of Oscar, from his sudden violent death at a young age, through his chances at liberation into the light which he rejects, because of his karma and guilt over how he has f'ed up the lives of all those he supposedly loves or calls friend, and ending in his inevitable rebirth.
The film is an ordeal and many, even those who are interested in the afterlife and "bardo films", may find it hard going. As Oscar's spirit floats overhead into scenes where he sees the past and present of his beloved sister, his friend Alex, his friend Victor whom he has particularly harmed, and others, including what happens to his corpse, the movement is slow and mostly silent, as befits a disembodied, earthbound spirit. These slow overhead shots are punctuated at intervals by several extremely loud, sudden shocks. This might seem gratuitous, but nothing in this film is gratuitous, even the ending, which many would deem pornographic but is entirely consistent with the Tibetan belief in the soul seeking a womb in which to be reborn. The karmic elements of the film are well thought-out, and the film's overall effect and message are profound to the viewer ready to consider them.
And what follows is basically 2.5 hours from the afterlife of Oscar, from his sudden violent death at a young age, through his chances at liberation into the light which he rejects, because of his karma and guilt over how he has f'ed up the lives of all those he supposedly loves or calls friend, and ending in his inevitable rebirth.
The film is an ordeal and many, even those who are interested in the afterlife and "bardo films", may find it hard going. As Oscar's spirit floats overhead into scenes where he sees the past and present of his beloved sister, his friend Alex, his friend Victor whom he has particularly harmed, and others, including what happens to his corpse, the movement is slow and mostly silent, as befits a disembodied, earthbound spirit. These slow overhead shots are punctuated at intervals by several extremely loud, sudden shocks. This might seem gratuitous, but nothing in this film is gratuitous, even the ending, which many would deem pornographic but is entirely consistent with the Tibetan belief in the soul seeking a womb in which to be reborn. The karmic elements of the film are well thought-out, and the film's overall effect and message are profound to the viewer ready to consider them.