Pedro Vital

Abstract

This essay is about how the theories developed by Sergei Eisenstein had an influence on filmmaking, analyzed on Gaspar Noé’s 2009 film, Enter The Void. This film is an esoteric piece where Noé digs through abstract concepts like what happens after death, what is the void and the experience of drug consumption. It felt interesting to relate both of these creators and find correlations in their work.

Soviet artists and theorists made a big research on filmmaking, specifically considering montage. Their interpretation of a shot and the act of joining two shots gave cinema, as an art, a different perspective.

When researching the film, Enter The Void, there is philosophical research already done, giving this research good references in order to correlate both filmmaker’s work. Their work is specific, original and the techniques used by the two are related in some way or form. The contemporary cinema is not as attached to form as the Soviet times. The technological revolution made cinema richer in references, the ease of finding information is completely different than the beginning of the XIX century. However, they connect through art.

The Theories of Montage were developed roughly 90 years ago and their relevancy on the days that we live in shows how Eisenstein thought about cinema and montage, more specifically. Their work on montage remains remarkable and some of their attempts on the intellectual montage are still hard to achieve, making Soviet filmmaking very significant in the research of montage. In Enter The Void, it was found examples of metric, rhythmic and tonal montage. Noé’s concept of montage differed, in form, from Eisenstein’s. However, Eisenstein’s theories were written considering the bigger picture, making the use of his writings able to be applied to most of the films.