2001: A Space Odyssey

Released:  April 3^rd, 1968

Rated:  G

Studio:  MGM, Stanley Kubrick Productions

Starring:  Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rain

Directed by:  Stanley Kubrick

Written by:  Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke

Personal Bias Alert:  has a dark view of nature and the universe

5 of 10

            The problem with art is its subjectivity.  No image, song, or story will ever have the same meaning to everyone who encounters it.  Moreover, it will never even be able to elicit a reaction from everyone.  There will always be those who are unmoved, whose approach to life is so different, who derive meaning from such a foreign place, that any work that tries to reach the depths of our beings will fail for some people.  2001:  A Space Odyssey is undoubtedly a work of art that tries and succeeds at touching many people, but I was left unmoved.

            Broken into four sections, the film seems to tell the story of aliens influencing life on Earth through the placement of large, black monoliths.  The first appears to a group of hominids, the ape precursors of humans.  The second is discovered by humans on the moon, which prompts a journey to Jupiter after the moon monolith emits a radio signal aimed in that direction.  That’s a bare bones summary of the plot, but the film clearly desires to tell a much larger story.  The specifics of that larger story is left open to interpretation.  Consider it the ‘choose your own adventure’ portion of the film.

            Perhaps I’m a bit too analytical for this film, or maybe I’m just too familiar with science to find the grandeur in it.  Whatever the reason, I found the beginning hour and a half of this film tedious and rather pointless.  Yes, our pre-human ancestors behaved in much the same way as current apes, forming groups, fighting for resources, dying, etc.  And yes, eventually one of them started using tools (although humanity’s true key to success is our ability for form complex social structures, but let’s forget that).  Then we get to what I consider the ‘spaceship porn’ section of the film:  endless shots of space travel set to music that tells me I should be finding it amazing.  The problem is, I see it as just science, hunks of metal briefly performing amazing feats before malfunctioning and either floating endlessly as trash or burning up in the atmosphere of whatever planet they encounter first.  I imagine space travel to be much more like the screeching docking in Apollo 13 than the perfected elegance Kubrick displays in 2001.

            Eventually, we get to the story of the manned trip to Jupiter, where the film finally began to work for me.  The two men overseeing the travel are working closely with a computer system called the HAL 9000, or Hal for short.  The interaction between the men and the possibly sentient computer is riveting, and the culminating scene took my breath away.  Here, I thought.  Now I get this film.  It’s about struggling against the abyss of death.  Our ancestors did it with the monolith-given tools, the human characters follow the signal in an attempt to find some purpose for their lives, and now our offspring, Hal, is struggling to find its place in the world.  We all do it, and the aliens, it seems, want to help us along.

            Then we get to the last section, which is mind-bogglingly weird, clearly throws my ideas out the window, and is, again, way too long.  It became abundantly clear to me that I missed the boat with this one; that this film, for whatever reason, wasn’t going to speak to me.  And that’s okay.  I have many films that reach obtusely into the recesses and pull out deep meaning for me (Tree of Life and Upstream Color came out in just the last five years).  I don’t demand that everything speak to my particular worldview, and if you find something meaningful in this film, then I’m happy that you have it.

            Outside the story itself, the technical aspects of this film are extraordinary.  Remember, this was made in the 60’s, and all the space travel shots still look amazing.  Some are obviously basic effects, like turning the camera on its side so it appears that the actors are climbing on the walls, but several still left my modern eyes gaping.  The use of lights and colors add to both the reality and surrealism, and that blend of hard science with large displays of grandeur is an impressive balancing act of visual tones.

            My lack of emotional reaction to this film was disappointing, but perhaps future viewings will uncover other meanings for me.  For now, I really dislike this film, but give it a 5 of 10 because I can see the big goals it has in mind.

            Other Notes:

Ø  Grip shoes!

Ø  Is the cut from the monkey’s club to the space ships contrasting the brutality and elegance of man?

Ø  Did Star Wars model their hangar bays from this film?

Ø  The inherent problem, I think, with me and 2001 is a differing view on how life works.  The aliens who left the monoliths seem to just want to help humanity.  I, however, buy into what Werner Herzog said in Grizzly Man:  “I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder.”  Hence, this seemingly altruistic version of aliens is a bit too neat for my taste.