My favorite film

Rating: Null/10 (15 August 2002)

Sometimes, I avoid critiquing a certain film because I am at a loss of words when it comes to describing it. `2001: A Space Odyssey' is one such film: a magnificent, visionary epic of unbelievable power and magnitude. Of course, a film that approaches mankind's most momentous questions in such an audacious manner becomes an instant magnet for criticism. Complaints like `slow', `dull', `doesn't make sense', `unimaginative', `emotionless', and even `dated' are repeatedly used by frustrated viewers who, for whatever reason, are unable to immerse themselves into Kubrick's magnum opus, but none of them really seem to fit. For me, `2001' is a truly flawless work of art.
At the center of the film is the monolith: a polished, black rectangle, planted by a superior form of life in order to progress the evolution of mankind. Yet, strangely enough, a large portion of the movie deals with a battle between man and machine. It seems perplexing at first, given how little it has to do with the key story-line, but the extended sub-plot not only gives the film a conflict - one which brings along feelings of tension, fear, and pity, among other things - but helps to comment on the movie's many themes: most notably, man's rapid advancement of technology.

`2001' is split into four chapters. The first of which, `The Dawn of Man', recounts man's evolution from man-ape into man. It opens with incredible imagery, which seems to tell the history of earth. It shows a world without cement, buildings, cars, and pollution. After apes inhabit the world, the helpless, inane creatures come into contact with the monolith, which helps them to develop a sense of curiosity and the discovery of `tools. The famous jump-cut, in which an ape-man tosses his newfound tool into the air, brings us either to 1999 or 2000, where man's tools have given them the ability to travel through space.
After a dazzling ballet of floating ships, set to Strauss's `The Blue Danube', we find that our new protagonist, Dr. Heywood Floyd, is heading to the moon for reasons he cannot discuss. Floyd's harrowing discussion with Russian scientists (in an eerie white room with red/orange chairs) hints that his mission is rather important, and therefore, confidential. He learns of a monolith having been dug up on the moon, one that points to Jupiter and reacts with a sort of `burglar alarm', reporting to the extraterrestrials that man has reached the next rung on the ladder to becoming a superior life force.
The lengthy third section, `Jupiter Mission', brings in the aforementioned sub-plot concerning HAL 9000, a self-proclaimed, `foolproof and incapable of error' computer entity with the capability to `mimic' human emotions. HAL's ability to mimic ultimately leads to his downfall, when he makes an incorrect judgement on the failure of another ship part. Overwhelmed by his massive duties on the ship, his fault leads to his own incapability to comprehend his fallibility. The ships crew members, headed on a mission which is kept secret to them, are killed off by the computer, leading the one remaining survivor to outwit the computer and `unplug' him. Upon reaching Jupiter space, he learns about the nature of his mission.
The final segment, `Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite', depicts events beyond human comprehension. The survivor, David Bowman, is sucked into a stargate by the superior life form. When he reaches the destination, he is kept in a `human zoo', mapped out of images in his subconscious. He is then evolved into a greater being, one made purely of energy and soul.

Words cannot possibly depict how I feel towards this movie. I've seen it over 25 times in the last year, and I find myself as overwhelmed by its beauty and power as ever. Every frame is beautiful, every choice of sound and music is impeccable. To experience the opening images of `Jupiter Mission' with the wonderfully melancholic `Gayne Ballet Suite' in the background, or the moment in which Bowman's objective is explained to him by Floyd on the blue screen, fading with the words, `its origin and purpose still a total mystery' is to have a mild feeling of euphoria. It would be pointless for me to list more breathtaking moments, they must be seen and appreciated on their own.
In regard to the popular criticism of the film being `boring', this most likely depends on the viewer's attention span. The slowest of moments remain so visually stunning that I still can't take my eyes off the screen. I wouldn't remove a second of the film, because there is a purpose behind all of it. `Tedious' is often used to describe a sequence in which Bowman takes his space pod out to retrieve a part of the ship that is supposedly malfunctioning. It can be rather tedious, and it often triggers one's mind to wander, but it actually creates a feeling of routine and comfort within the viewer. A short time later, Bowman's assistant Frank Poole performs the similar task of attaching the ship unit back where it was. Identical feelings of routine and boredom begin to set in, but this time, Kubrick disrupts it. We see the pod turn around (under HAL's control) and cut Frank's oxygen cord. The tension built up during this moment is worth every millisecond of tedium in the previous sequence. Kubrick does something similar in `The Shining', using two scenes of a child riding a tricycle. The first creates routine, the second disrupts it. One of the director's many ingenius filmmaking tactics.
I could discuss the many themes, allegories, and insights towards this greatest of films, but that should be left for the viewer to experience. Besides, I'm running dangerously close to the 1,000 word mark.