Possibilities

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2014)

I have just celebrated the visual and immersive storytelling of Malick and Caplin, so it's unsurprising that I'm arriving now at Kubrick's door.
Among the most beautifully photographed and engineered poems, one does need some interest in the meditative languor or patience to wait foe the science fiction vision to unfold (although I think the film transcends all genres). For me, this is very much as spellbinding as films get, from the very beginning. I don't agree with the criticism that Kubrick might be pompous, but I can see why one might feel that way. This, even after all these years, is a journey into film itself, the possibilities of visual expression. And aural! What a way to use well-known pieces and make them one's own! Not to mention taking an obscure piece by Ligeti, letting it to get to the bone.
From time to time I'm surprised by the criticism aimed at the acting of those involved. They are often described as wooden, and in comparison HAL seems humane. I'm surprised by this since isn't it obviously the point — that the great tragic struggle is not really fought within the humans but within HAL?