An exceedingly complex film that demands multiple viewings

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 1999)

Anyone familiar with Kubrick knows going in what to expect: a surreal world in which characters interact in what on the surface seem to be inconsequential ways, while beneath the surface other conflicts and storylines rage and churn. So it is: it seemed to me that although in the strictest sense nothing really happens in this film, the conflict and tension are greater than almost any other film I've seen.
Kubrick has this way of expanding the film experience to the viewer, and nowhere is it more apparent than here. We are hit with a barrage of stimuli and expected to piece together the story and thematic elements ourselves. Only a truly masterful film such as this one can attempt such a thing and succeed so well. For example, Kubrick's use of colors (and rainbows of course) to represent emotional states or silence to indicate an inescapable situation are as universal as they are powerful.
One really needs to see this film multiple times. By the time you figure out exactly what the film is doing, you've missed enough elements that another viewing is imperative. That's not such a bad thing: the film, with its utterly un-erotic sexuality and numerous subtexts is joy to watch.