Movie Minx

Starring: A few actors, a few planets
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Plot: A monkey throws a bone into the air. Some music goes dum-dum-dum-dum. Some planets spin. A computer turns nasty. A man dies in a room. Don’t ask questions.

But is it any good?

I first watched A Space Odyssey pre-2001, a whole millenium ago in 1999. I was not impressed. In fact, I was so unimpressed I fell asleep half-way though - a gesture of contempt so great in my book that I have only done it three times (the other two were during Birth of a Nation and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).

It was slow. It was sloooooooooooooooooooooooow. Butt-achingly.

Which isn’t to say it wasn’t without merit at all (read that one again). The music is marvelous, some of the shots look far more modern than they were, the part where HAL the computer starts taking on the astronauts is excellent drama, our ancestors discovering weapons is thrilling and the philosophical ideas behind it are intriguing. But so slooooooooooow.

Last night I went to the DVD store. I was not looking forward to this one. Then a light-bulb illuminated above my head. How could I make this movie more interesting? So my friend Mary Jane and I watched it together (kids, don’t invite over Mary Jane).

And quite honestly, I enjoyed things much more this time. The music, the planets, the trip through the colors - it was highly rewarding. Even the parts where things dragged a little were amusing.

The ideas inherent in the film also later induced one of those stoner-type debates in my house about eternity, consciousness, past vs. future, good vs. evil, etc. All in all, it was very satisfying evening. Apparently Kubrick himself said the film should be treated like an enigmatic painting or a piece of music. There should be no “explanation”. It’s all about how you feel when you see/hear it.

And as a film with only 40% dialog, it’s no Pulp Fiction or Gone With the Wind. It’s not easy work, it’s bloody intense and cryptic. And I still believe it has its shortcomings. But as something that provokes discussion and emotion, and was somewhat ahead of its time, it deserves a place in every local DVD store, if not in IMDb’s top 100.

My rating: 2/10 (plain) or 7/10 (chemicals added)

Share This

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!