Masterpiece of film making.......

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2003)

After reading some of the user comments on this film I felt I'd like to add my two cents.
I consider this film to be one of the masterpieces in the world of cinema. Would I want every film to be similar in structure? No, I would not. But that does not diminish the accomplishment of this film.
I've read comments from users citing the film as boring, hard to understand, pointless & lacking in narrative.
I feel these opinions are based more on the expectations of what a film should be and not on what the film actually is.
What this film does and brilliantly I might add is to challenge the concept of what the medium of film can be. Instead of using film as a medium to tell a straight forward narrative, the film ascends to loftier goals. I see the movie as a piece of art. Cinematic art. I liken the experience of watching 2001 as viewing a great masterpiece of art.
I don't watch 2001 to merely have some science fiction author's hypothesis of the nature of existence explained to me. I watch it for the visual feast combined with the haunting score and challenging intellectual theories presented. Film is first & foremost a visual medium. The use of sound in the form of scoring compliments the visual for sure. But dialogue between characters is only relied upon in this movie when it is absolutely necessary to further the story.
The film is not fast paced. But slow pacing in and of itself does not condemn this or any other film. It's what the creator does with the pace of the film that matters.
In many ways, for me, this film is a ballet. Key scenes in the timeline of man are presented and there is this dance of life. Dance of death. The constant struggle to further the awareness of life, the possibilities of existence, the barriers of death of time & of space. It's heady stuff for sure and the movie only presents scenarios, possibilities. It does not provide answers. It only suggests what ifs. And it does it with visuals combined with a perfect score that to this day, inspire film makers & audiences worldwide.