Kubrick's search

Christian Century, August 11, 1999 by James M. Wall

So effectively does Kubrick plunge the viewer into a unique physical and emotional space--as he did in the deserted mansion in The Shining, or the spaceship in 2001, or the war room in Dr. Strangelove--that it comes as something of a shock to hear characters refer to late-20th-century realities such as HIV and AIDS. Much of the dialogue and description in the film comes from Schnitzler's novella (in the original story the reference is not to AIDS but to a "sexually transmitted disease").

By turning to Schnitzler's Vienna, could Kubrick be suggesting that after 100 years our society remains bogged down in its quest for sexual freedom without commitment, a futile quest that still offers no surcease from the fear and isolation that drives that search?

Since Kubrick was notoriously unwilling to explain the mysteries at the heart of his films, he would probably not have given us a straight answer to that question. But we do have his final film for those willing to continue the search.