2001: A Space Odyssey

This film was unlike any other I have ever seen, and so was my reaction different from any other I have experienced. I am left with the impression that, on the whole, I disliked it. This may very well be a personal problem, related to the prejudices and baggage I bring to a first screening of any film, and what I am usually looking to gain from a film. I may be single-minded to a fault: I like films about people, I say, about figuring out our connections to each other. 2001 undermines this concern completely (and probably quite brilliantly): it’s more about our connections to the universe, the transcendence of an entire species — it undermines the ego. It places the individual in a context too vast to grasp.

I’m having a difficult time reasoning out my impression that I disliked it — though I’m happy to own it for the time being. I get the sense that a lot of you who love the film now did not like it on first viewing — but I’m not seeing it for the first time as a child or a cinematic n00b. I don’t want to dismiss long sequences as pretentious bullshit, especially when I cannot find the words to describe why I found them frustrating and maddening.

Well, the film certainly affected me, & I think I’ll revisit it in a month or so (just when I think I’m over the initial shock!). I don’t honestly expect my opinion to change but I do hope to develop a fuller response, and I think I may mature as a viewer if I can approach this film on its terms…