The most intellectually challenging film of them all.

Rating: 10/10 (24 January 1999)

Calling 2001 the best film of all time is a distinct possibility, but calling it my favourite film of all time is a dead certainty. No other film before or since has had the effect on me that it has.
Firstly, I have to say to those who find it pointless or confusing that it does indeed have a point and makes perfect sense once you discover it's meaning. For me, this took over 20 years and a great deal of thought and life experience (and a fair amount of reading). Don't have the time or the inclination? Stick to Star Wars (an enjoyable but totally different kind of film).
I was only ten when I saw this film for the first time. Did I understand more than 20% of it? No. Did I wish to? Passionately. I'd go so far as to say that a desire to understand this movie played a significant role in the direction of my intellectual development. That's a heck of a lot to attribute to a single film, but I'll stick to this assertion nevertheless.
I still experience a feeling of awe and wonderment every time I re-visit 2001, even though I now feel that I pretty much understand the film. Partly, I suppose this is a recollection of my first viewing as a child when I understood little of it, partly the debt of gratitude that I owe to the mental journey I undertook to finally "Get it". If anything, It has more of an emotional impact on me now in my understanding than ever before.
I'm also the only person that I know who feels this way about it, so if you don't "get it", don't feel badly. You aren't alone. If you feel the same way about, then we share a bond.