Kubrick in all his diversity at Bentara Budaya Jakarta
By Bruce Emond
JAKARTA (JP): It would be too convenient, and unfair, to call 1999's Eyes Wide Shut the greatest work in director Stanley Kubrick's distinguished career.
It is the easy thing to do because it was released only weeks after his death at the age of 71, after unusually intensive prepublicity about the two Hollywood draws, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, and a notorious scene where the beautiful twosome get down and dirty at an orgy in a country house.
A more even-handed perspective on the film may only come in a few years, but there is no denying that Kubrick, despite the long breaks he took between movies, is one of the geniuses of cinemadom. His legacy is a stunningly diverse range of movies, from historical dramas like Spartacus at the outset of his career in 1960 to horror films such as The Shining 20 years later.
The program planners at Bentara Budaya were on the right track in making their four selections for a Kubrick film fest starting on Monday, Feb. 19, in which his full scope of talent is on display. From 2001: A Space Odyssey to Full Metal Jacket the program is not to be missed.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, 139 minutes). Starring Keir Dulles, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter, Margaret Tyzack. Adapted by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke from the latter's novel The Sentinel.
Humankind's story, from the discovery of a monolithic black stone by ape-men to the finding of a weapon in the form of a bone to kill their enemies. The story then fast forwards to the 21st century (right here, right now) and a spaceship where, unfortunately, people are not showing much psychological advancement from their forefathers.
Kubrick said he intended it as, "an intensely cerebral experience that reaches the viewer at an inner level of consciousness just like music does." An Oscar winner for its special effects, critics generally acclaimed it as a classic, although among the dissenters at the New York Times called it "somewhere between hypnotic and intensely boring". (Monday, 4 p.m., Wednesday, 7 p.m.)
A Clockwork Orange (1971, 137 minutes). Starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke, Adrienne Corri, John Clive. From Anthony Burgess' novel.
With a sadistic grin etched on his face, Alex (McDowell) is a young man with one thing on his mind: the quest to inflict pain on others. He has no regrets about doing it, including terrorizing a writer and raping and killing his wife, until the government steps in to try to put him and his gang of "Droogs" on the straight and narrow. Amoral Alex is a supremely disturbing character in a disturbingly violent film which has as many supporters as detractors. McDowell in his bowler hat and that smirk will stay in your mind for days after. (Monday, 7 p.m., Wednesday 7 p.m.)
Barry Lyndon (1975, 184 minutes). Starring Ryan O' Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Kruger, Gay Hamilton, Leonard Rossiter. From the novel by Thackeray.
Save for occasional special screenings at festivals, art houses and on college campuses, this film is unlikely to have been seen by anyone not around for its original release. At more than three hours, the story of a young man (O' Neal) climbing his way up the social ladder in the 18th century is not the stuff of the late show.
It was savaged by the critics upon its release, but even the harshest of the reviews acknowledged its great beauty and fine historical detail. O' Neal and Berenson, the former model who played the rich Jewish beauty in Cabaret, make a pleasingly pretty couple of any era, but their acting leaves something to be desired. Despite all the criticism, the New York Times' Vincent Canby praised it as, "handsome, assured ... its austerity of purpose defines it as a costume movie unlike any you've ever seen." So there. (Tuesday, 4 p.m., Thursday, 7 p.m.)
Full Metal Jacket. (1987, 116 minutes): Starring Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Erney, Dorian Harewood.
A group of U.S. Marines is put through hell under a psychotic drill sergeant during training for the killing fields in Vietnam. Modine, who has been given a cushy job behind the lines, throws it all aside for a little taste of the action in Southeast Asia, and in the process grows up. Its impact is undeniable, and critics' views ranged from "a technical knockout" from Richard Corliss in TIME to "steely cold and manipulative" from Britain's Time Out magazine. (Tuesday, 7 p.m., Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jl. Palmerah Selatan No. 17, Central Jakarta (across from the Kompas building). Contact 5483008 for more information.