Slow and elegant

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2019)

You can see films like Instellar in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I'm sure plenty other films that were influenced by it. A paints a radical picture of the future of humanity, but it starts off showing our origins. The apes' ability to use tools is presented as the moment that they became men. The switch from the flying bone to the space shuttle is a really good way of showing that it all started with the ability to use tools. This technological progress is what a lot of 2001 is about. Progress from bones, to spacecraft, to a supercomputer that threatens man's very future. Out-of-control AI is the theme of many modern sci-fi stories but here it is in a 1968 film.
Space Odyssey demands that you enjoy it at its own slow pace. And that's fine, it makes it a sort of meditative experience. It's well shot, from the pretty sunrises in the first chapter to the elegant shots of spacecraft. This is supported by perfectly chosen music such as Sunrise, which inspires awe, and the Blue Danube, which conveys the Universe's cold beauty.
A creepy element of Space Odyssey's futuristic vision is HAL, the supercomputer. There is some really good cinematography here. As the two crew members realise the threat HAL poses and plan to switch it off, the camera's position lets you see it in the background. You just know it's lip-reading them. After its attempts to stop Dave returning to the craft fail, it's fascinating to see it start adopting a different, fearful tone. Of course, whether or not it actually feels that emotion or is just imitating it is left ambiguous.
As the final chapter shows, the ultimate evolution of humanity is transcendence. Man becomes Firstborn, reborn again, represented onscreen as a baby. The twist, that would go on to be recycled in films like Interstellar, is that the monolith that guided man to reach for the stars, was itself produced by future man. It's a satisfying end to a film that is all about transcendence. Overly optimistic this film may be, but it is good to explore the positives of technological progress rather than just our pessimistic expectations.