Hypnotic!

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 1999)

At a time in the history of movie making where every single director seems obsessed by special effects and where screenplays are considered unimportant, it is a great lesson to watch such a movie. Jealousy, dreams, reality, man, woman, sexuality, desire, etc... Who but Kubrick could have tackled today these realities with such hypnotic power? The movie is pure magic, the cinematography of it nothing short of gorgeous, the soundtrack absolutely riveting (especially the Ligeti piano music, haunting), the actors (more Kidman than Cruise) are remarkable. This is cinema of the highest level. I'm glad that I've seen it and will certainly go see it again and again. That's the difference between a genius (Kubrick) and those ordinary talented directors (Lucas, Spielberg and co.); his movies are so loaded with layers of meanings that they are virtually always new when you see them on numerous occasions. I wish everybody could experience "Eyes Wide Shut"; it is profoundly moving and powerful.(Too bad that we, Canadians, were obliged to see the amputated version; we should have been granted with the original).