Kubrick's second best

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 1999)

You know, I've never made a top 10 list of my favorite movies ever. Maybe because I'm just 15 and I haven't seen so many classics and masterpieces yet. But I really liked the ones I saw, such as "Psycho", "Casablanca", "Rear Window", "Gone With the Wind", among others, but in special Stanley Kubrick's films. I think he is a genius since I saw "Eyes Wide Shut" this year, so I decided to rent some other celebrated films of him. First, it was "The Shining". I thought it was a very scary and impressing horror movie, one of the best things ever made on the genre. After that I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey". This one just fascinated me. If I make a top 10 list, I think "2001" will be on the top. It is the best sci-fi ever and one of the most beautiful studies about the human beings. But I can't forget "A Clockwork Orange", that is for sure one of the most disturbing and impressing films ever made.
"A Clockwork Orange" is not for everyone, first of all- as many other Kubrick's movies. It is really strong- violent, with some strong sexuality, rapes, etc. But the main reason for what I call it 'strong' is the theme. It is about a futuristic society, where the violence is everywhere and it seems to have no order. A young man, named Alex, leads a group of disorders- his 'droogs'- whose main interest is the 'ultra violence'. They drug themselves, break in houses, rape women, violent men. In addition, Alex loves Beethoven. Some day, in the middle of a house break-in, his 'droogs' betray him and he is caught by the police. He is taken to prison, but there he hears about a treatment which can cure disorders. He persuades and is persuaded to be part of the treatment. It is all very strange and shocking, but the doctors claim to have cured him. He tries to start a normal life again, but... was he really cured?
Only Stanley Kubrick could have done a masterpiece like this one. Everything is perfect, from the soundtrack to the acting. It is used symbolic elements and some words that can seem very strange, but there is a vocabulary for them in the credits. They are very interesting in fact- pay attention. Kubrick cares for each detail and uses a dark humor to tell the story, that is somehow tragic in some moments- the victims' payback. Funny (darkly funny) in others- the ending. Shocking in others- see, for example, the scene where Alex sings 'Singing in the Rain' while he rapes a woman. The movie was even banned in some countries, but this is just stupid.
Overall, "A Clockwork Orange" will certainly be on my top 10 list when I make it. It is weird. It is scary. It is impressing. It is disturbing. It is unforgettable!