Probably throughout this article I will show many frames of characteristic scenes and formulated an infinity of questions that have no apparent answer or that are left to the reader’s judgment, but that is precisely what I want to achieve when talking about «Eyes Wide Shut «, that special thing about this film: doubt, mystery and secret, within an astonishing visual framework.
Stanley Kubrick… It is said that he’s one of the best and most influential film directors in the world. But, what good is it if it doesn’t produce anything for me with his most «acclaimed» films like «2001: A Space Odyssey», «Spartacus» or «The Shining»? (We will talk about «A Clockwork Orange» on another occasion as it is an exception)
At least for me, a director doesn’t attract my attention just because he is «influential» in the world and famous for that. And what’s more, the directors themselves don’t catch my attention; I’m not a fan of the technical team in charge of the films that I like, as if creating a masterpiece implies that all the others will be equally “master”. Perhaps in some cases the director repeats the luck with some of my favorite films, but in this article it’s not the case to talk about that.
Regardless of the career of this renowned filmmaker, and what terrible things this film can hide, I will only comment on why I’m fascinated by one of his (they say) legendary and controversial films, which despite the years and the countless times I’ve seen it, I still find it striking, interesting, mysterious, intriguing and captivating. Without going any further, the last time I saw it a couple of weeks ago, I discovered another edge of the story and a couple of hidden details that, unless you are very meticulous, you might not notice when you’re looking at the movie for the first time. And they’re not trivial details like a painting in the background that was seen for two seconds in a specific scene or the color of the protagonist’s dress, but rather phrases or actions that have a content hidden at first glance, but in reality they have traces of relevant information to understand why events in history unfold in one way or another. In fact, if you had more experience and connection with the fictional world that is related in this film, you can realize the influence of certain characters, who are not placed there randomly, but they play an important role in the whole plot, as well as places and settings.
In this framework, everything is conspired to have a story assembled on every detail, every meaning, every outline of clarity that serves to decode what Kubrick wanted to tell us with this film. Are there more hidden symbols that I still haven’t discovered? Will there be more sentences with double reading? It’s a matter of keep watching the movie over and over again (which doesn’t bother me at all).
It’s neccesary to mention that this one was a very controversial film and promoted for having «strong» erotic scenes and a plot for adults. Even more, when I was under 18 that warning was the most striking thing about seeing this movie, but now that I know it well, that alert almost takes a back seat. It only remains to say that if you want to watch sex, better get yourself a pornographic film directly and avoid going through «Eyes Wide Shut», because you will be disappointed, or even bored. It’s true that naked women are explicitly shown and also some scenes of orgies and sexual relations, without any shame, but unless you are a sexual depraved who is only interested in the sex that appears in the movies, it’s not relevant here, because there are a background more important than that, where it doesn’t matter if it shows a little more or a little less. Sure, all this is part of the visual narrative, and without these scenes, you couldn’t understand some things, but this isn’t a pornographic film, although we can say that it’s erotic.
And it’s precisely that narrative that tries to unscramble as the minutes go by, between scenes that are sometimes incomprehensible and useless, or absurd and redundant dialogues, the one that transcends to sink us into a dilemma. Will this really happen in real life? Is it just the result of an open and imaginative mind? Because let me tell you that I still feel that there are too many scenes, conversations that lead nowhere, time and resources wasted (at first glance) and that make you wonder if we really understand each step that is advanced or we are immersed in murky waters of a dream that seems to be real.
As an extra information, Mr. Kubrick was based on an Austrian novel called «Dream Story», by the author Arthur Schnitzler, in which a marital conflict breaks trust in them because the main character feels drawn into the unknown and plunges into terrain as dreamy as it is dangerous. Could it be what we are trying to make known here: that fascinating dream world but at the same time threatening?
Without wanting to spoil it or telling too much about what it’s about (if you haven’t seen this movie yet), this film mainly talks about the price of keeping secrets: on the one hand, problems in a «happy» marriage because of the loss of trust or having a blind trust, and on the other hand, hidden societies that maintain and practice rites not very well seen by the common people and that move away from «normality». Or is it a reflection of this «normality»?
Based on this, I think there’s no doubt that the title is well chosen. The question is, do you mean that it’s better to keep your eyes tightly closed to avoid falling into matters that don’t concern us? Or does it mean that we have practically been with our eyes closed all the time and only at the end do we open them to realize what has happened? Are there any other hypotheses?
According to what I just said, this film is very striking to me as it is a mixture of reality and fiction, both so well combined that it’s difficult to pull apart them and stop to think what things can happen and what not, or which of them are happening right at this moment , even in the house that is on the street corner where we live. Sometimes reality is more than fiction and that is already more than proven. Or do you still believe that your neighborhood is only what you see on the outside? Have you ever stopped to think about what happens within the four walls of that mysterious house around the corner? I’m sure that more than once your answer is YES. So we are in the presence of evidence that fiction is within our reality. Or will it be the other way around?
On the other hand, it is almost mock and ironic that the film was set at the time before Christmas, with all those colors, all that joy, all that spirit of love and peace that haunts the environment, and that in particular, Americans want to always print this date, even when the world is falling apart. Could it be to counteract in some way the dark experience that the protagonists live?
Now, if there is something that can be noticed as a constant element in the whole film, and that is precisely one of the things that I like the most, it is the multicolored Christmas lights; those that decorate the festive atmosphere, and that as we know there are many shapes and colors, but here they never stop being like a rainbow. All the Christmas trees that you see, in different places and scenes, be they small, large, elegant or common, they’re all decorated in bright colors, and sometimes they’re also on the walls or window and stairs decorations.
Wherever the protagonist is, it’s always decorated with those lights. Weird, isn’ it? Did everyone buy the same types of lights? Did they agree or was there only that kind in the stores in New York City? Is it any sign? For a simple passing spectator this can be «beautiful», «curious» or simply go unnoticed. For me, this is one of the reasons that makes it special.
Even in a Christmas party that is shown at the beginning of the film, in the middle of an imposing glow of white, yellow and golden lights, those multicoloured tones are also found. Yes, precisely in that dreamlike space created by waterfalls and light curtains with a glare that dazzles, is that visual detail that can hide as many secrets as answers, at the same time that key events are developed to reveal what is coming if we keep being accomplices of each of the steps taken by the protagonist.
Based on this point, I prefer to stay with the idea that it’s one of the “special touches” that the film was wanted to give, although the theory that it is more than just coincidence is also very suggestive.
Finally, the last resource a filmmaker has when putting together his work, and why not say it, which also has me completely captivated, is the soundtrack.
If there are songs and melodies so spectacular that they are able to reach my mind and transport me in an instant to the whole world in which a movie wants to envelop us, those are those of «Eyes Wide Closed» (along with those of «Titanic ”). In my opinion, the choice of classic pieces, mixed with normal tones and some other disconcerting ones, recreate a part of history in each note.
Without music there is no scene, and without an interesting scene there’s no interesting music; they’re reciprocally necessary. Just start listening to the piano of the main theme to feel chills and become one more participant in the secret rite that the protagonist attends.
It’s not a coincidence that one of the influential characters in history is a pianist and it’s precisely he who involves us, consciously or unconsciously, to live this dream in reality. I don’t believe in coincidences, and even less in this movie.
Music plays as important a role here as are the coloured lights and the constant enigma of not knowing what might happen. It is these three elements that within everything that can be criticized, doubted or applauded about this film, those that make it special to me.
If you have never seen this film before, I invite you to do so, but with a wide view, without taking it so lightly: ‘Eyes wide shut’ is not one of those «light» ways to relax and hang out in a lazy afternoon, but on the contrary, it will demand the greatest attention from them and will keep them thinking minute by minute «what is happening here?» If it is susceptible to «strong» scenes, then don’t watch it. What is least wanted here is to have doubting and insecure viewers.
On the other hand, if you have seen it before, then I invite you to do it again, for the sole pleasure of enjoying it or perhaps to find something new. Who knows? At least I don’t reject it. Because if there’s something that can be praised in a film, and in particular this one, it is the ability to renew itself every time you see it, to not be the same you saw the last time, to have something new to offer and captivate you once again.
This is why «Eyes Wide Shut» is a Movie Art. There’s no more to add.