2001: A Movie To See

“I’m afraid. I’m afraid, Dave.”

-HAL

The first couple of minutes are in complete darkness, and all you can hear is the mystifying orchestral music, making you feel both eager and irritated at the same time. Then we see the MGM logo followed by the famous opening sequence with the musical backdrop of “Thus Spake Zarathustra” and then we perceive that the movie has finally commenced. However, the movie already started before we saw anything, it started in absolute darkness and enigmatic sound: chilling, terrifying, mysterious, exciting.

“2001: A Space Odyssey”, is to me, a movie that is both boring and riveting. There is less than 40 minutes of dialogue in a movie that spans roughly two hours and 20 minutes and each scene seems long and elongated. But this is a story that needs to be told, not by dialogue, but by images and music. How can I forget, the sublime scenes themselves, perfect pairings of image and music, as if they danced together to the “Blue Danube”. You become invested in each scene, somehow magically, and as if all the wonder had culminated in the last sequence, the feeling of confusion and painful awareness of the sublime leaves you dumbfounded and holding your breath in the closing moments as the journey ends. When the credits rolled upon my first viewing, I let out a sigh of both relief and undefinable content. Your feelings for the movie may very well be as confusing as the movie itself.

However, I must stop myself from going on about the film, for singing its praises may lead to disappointment for a first-time viewer, and frankly, there is far too much to say about the film, most likely leading to an inconclusive end. So I beg you, watch this film. Watch a film that is not so much about the individual, but rather the journey. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is…