2001: A Space Odyssey

20/365 2001 a space odyssey in my opinion cannot be described as a film, it should be described as a full on visual study of the human condition. Watching this made my curiosity bloom like a newborn baby discovering the world it was born into. It was a controlled film that understands holding the viewers attention is not through spectacle, but through forcing patience and observation. Along with curiosity, it also does a great job of making you feel tense and deceived with the characters choices and intentions. One of the greatest decisions Kubrick made, was to make the humans feel like emotionless animals and make HAL who actually feels human. We are deceived and confused just as HAL is. The silence in this movie is almost deafening. Time stretches, yet somehow feels like its accelerating. It asks you to sit with stillness long enough for meaning to surface on its own. 2001 is a complete, controlled, and uncompromising film. Every shot, sound, and even the 2 minute blacked out screen is deliberately placed and is all connected to one story which is the understanding of the human condition. This completely altered the way I think about movies and reminded me movies don’t need words to convey emotions or stories.