Kings_Requiem

At what point does a film transcend the medium and become something else entirely? How long does that process take? And would it even be recognizable afterward? Are these even answerable questions? I'm not sure they are, but in the 50 years since the original release of this Stanley Kubrick seminal Sci-Fi tale one thing has become abundantly clear - 2001: A Space Odyssey has not only transcended its own genre but cinema in general.

When Kubrick and his crew started production on this film I don't think anyone could possibly have known they were going to be changing the face of cinema forever. Sometimes, though, cinema can be a fickle mistress and the world didn't really take to the film right away. Many people and pundits called it boring and overly confusing. Which is still a main complaint of several people even today, but it is impossible (for my money anyway) not to be swept up in the grandness of it all. The overall epic feeling of this film has been practically unmatched in the 5 decades since its release. A multitude of things in this film have stood the test of time over the years...starting with its unbelievable Oscar winning visual effects. For a film that came out in 60's to have effects that not only hold up today but are better than just about every movie that has come out since is hard to comprehend considering how advanced technology has become. It doesn't seem like it should be possible but the proof is in the pudding. And it's not just the visual effects...this film is packed to the brim with some of the greatest techs to have ever graced the screen. Production Design, Cinematography, Costume Design and Sound are all exquisite and stand toe-to-toe with any of the best ever in those categories.

A knock on this film would seem to be that the characters always take a backseat to the visuals and the story suffers as a result. Now, that's not an entirely inaccurate statement, but at the same time it's not one that I really subscribe to. This is a visual story. Plain and simple. It makes perfect sense that the characters wouldn't necessarily matter much at the end of the day. Except there's more to it than that. We actually spend quite a bit of time with different characters throughout the 2-and-a-half hour runtime. The static camera shots that stay on the characters as they complete their day-to-day routine aboard the space station and giving us little morsels of info about their lives back home on Earth is all more than enough (for me anyway) to get in-tune with these characters. There is one character, however, that should get and keep your attention and that's HAL 9000; the robotic intelligence system built into the ship. He is able convey a wide range of emotions with just a voice and a little red camera light. Props to actor Douglas Rain for being able to create such a great character with just his voice. He strikes a perfect balance between unassuming and menacing. I would like to make special mention of Keir Dullea, though, who stood out to me much more on this viewing. He is a man of few words in this film, but like Rain with his voice, Dullea says so much and displays an inordinate amount of emotion with just his eyes that it's almost a shock knowing he had any scripted dialogue in the first place.

This was my third time seeing this overall and first in the theater. The 50th Anniversary IMAX screenings are making their way around the country, so I jumped at the opportunity. My first two viewings of this were at home on Blu-ray and while I liked it I wasn't blown away by it. That's happened to me before with so-called "classics" - some I've come around on and some I've stayed cool on. I'm one of those people who likes to believe that a film should be able to play just as well whether it's watched at home or in a theater setting and that opinion still holds true, but I will say with absolute certainty that watching 2001: A Space Odyssey in IMAX is 100% required viewing. Everything is enhanced the Nth degree that it's hard to imagine ever viewing the film any other way again. I had never seen a film in IMAX before so maybe my perspective is a little skewed here... either way, I'm going to focus on the Sound aspect. Since this was my first time seeing a film in this format all I really knew to expect was that the screen was much larger than an average theater screen. Well, I was not at all prepared for just how loud the sound was going to be. I don't have an exact figure for how much louder it is compared to what it is at a regular theater, but it felt like I was right inside the Pod Bay with Dave. Just an unreal experience.

Kubrick managed to create something wholly unique and something that has numerous times been imitated but never duplicated. The DNA of 2001 has been felt on every Sci-Fi film over the past 50 years and will likely continue to be for many more years to come. Which brings me back to the original question posed: What happens when a film transcends a genre and cinema in general? What does it become and what are we left with as the audience? The answer is quite simply...

Art.

'First Reformed' is an extremely challenging film. Maybe the most challenging that I've seen. I expected nothing less from Paul Schrader, though, as he's written and directed a lot of challenging stuff over the years. It's slow, methodical and exacting. It asks important questions but does not give any easy answers (or answers in general for that matter)...

Ethan Hawke's performance at the epicenter of this film really is a towering achievement. It's the kind of performance that will do down as not only one of the best of the year, but this will be remembered (most likely) as his career best. Ernst Toller is a man struggling internally with immense pain and turmoil. The loss of his only child has caused his marriage to fall apart so he has since turned to the Lord for whatever form of relief he can find. Nothing will ever take away that pain, but he's at least been able to somewhat cope with it over the years...though he has never really found true peace or happiness and has since turned to the bottle (like most men seem to) for solace. He writes in a journal every day as a form of self prayer or maybe just a way to put his ruinous thoughts down on paper instead of keeping them bottled up where they could potentially do more harm. A meeting with a local man one day where a multitude of different end-of-the-world topics are discussed ends up leading the Reverend down a rabbit-hole of immense consequences. All of which cause Toller to question his commitment to God and the Church. He's the pastor of a small local church that are all but extinct now and every city is being overrun with these massive churches. Faith has become a spectacle run by mostly phonies who only care about the bottom-line instead of the people and the close-knit community - another thing that frustrates him. Ethan Hawke is able to quietly walk this emotional tightrope the entire film and never allows him to fall into any histrionics. Amanda Seyfried takes on the important role of Mary (one of only 2 main female roles) and she delivers her best performance as well. Mary becomes a integral part of the Reverend's life as they're able to help each other through these difficult times...although it can be kinda hard to see what ways she really helps him. Cedric "The Entertainer" Kyles also shows up along the way as the pastor of the big conglomerate church who, despite good intentions, is probably doing more harm than good.

I feel like it really demands to be seen whether you're a person of faith or not. This is definitely not your typical Christian film and that's probably gonna upset a lot of people, but this one (and Schrader) have more lofty ideas and weighty themes on their mind. This is a very dense screenplay which leads to a heavy film that expects a lot from the audience. Paul Schrader isn't letting anyone off the hook easily here...he's being patient and letting the film open up at its own pace. This is also the kind of film that doesn't divulge all of its secrets in one sitting...it expects you to come back to it and soak it all in over multiple viewings - which with a film of this ilk you should probably do anyway.

Paul Schrader and company have created something wholly unique and special with 'First Reformed' and I think it's definitely something to be valued. So if you're in the mood for something a little different and don't mind your movies making you think, then please give it a chance!

When push comes to shove it's probably my favorite movie of all- time. I've seen it around 50ish times and it never loses its luster for me. It's always hilarious, but I also think it's kind of underrated in terms of its dramatic moments...which I think Dobkin and the cast absolutely nail.

This movie also holds a special place in my heart because it's the movie that my wife (then ex-girlfriend) watched on the night we decided to get back together after almost a year apart. And it has become a tradition for the two of us to watch it every year on that exact day because it's such a special memory that we like to re- live.

I've also seen it a number of times with an old friend of mine and we would always recite the lines along with the movie and even talked all the time about crashing a few weddings of our own together. There was even a time where we got into a situation in real life where we were able to recreate a scene from the movie... It was totally unplanned, but the situation presented itself perfectly so we just ran with it. That was a lot of fun. Sadly though that friend and I don't really keep in touch anymore, but it's still great to look back on those times and remember how much fun we had and how the power of one movie could bring two people such happiness...if only for a little while.

I'll love this movie forever because of that and now I can't wait for my next re-watch. And on that note I'll leave everyone with this:

Rule #1: Never leave a fellow Crasher behind.