A breathtaking composition of story, sounds, and style

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2007)

A film as a story or a film as a piece of art? Ideally, both  as is the case of Kubrick's (and A. C. Clarke's) classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. The story-seekers will find a thrilling narrative about a deep-space voyage with a provoking ending. The art connoisseurs will relish this film from its very beginning (a black screen lasting for more than two minutes is not a typical opening sequence, is it?) to the final hyper-space animation. The music enthusiasts will be pleased to hear a unique mixture of classical tunes from both Richard and Johann Strauss and micro-polyphony of 20th century composer György Ligeti (you can get a taste of his music at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPKg2c_bRCs). I can not but agree with the user drn5 who speaks about beauty and relaxation  the two elements that often go together. And this, in my opinion, is the main source of misunderstanding of those who tend to look only for the plot  the simpler one, the better. Any 'artistic' elements are then accompanied by annoyed 'sorry, but we are not in an art gallery, so would you please remove this useless appendix?'. One thing is for sure  this film is definitely not for everyone (by the way, can you think of any film that is?), but if you happen to be one of those who look for more than a story, this might be the film for you. So, relax, and immerse yourself in the hypnotising atmosphere of Kubrick's fabulous fantasy.