Fear and Desire (1953)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  5 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Watching a director's debut piece is always an interesting exercise, and in the case of Stanley Kubrick's 'Fear and Desire,' that is very much the case as in many ways it is able to build a greater understanding of the rest of his complex filmography. This is especially insightful for me as -whilst I respect him massively -, I have never quite shared the wide-spread love for Kubrick's work that many have, and so this movie makes those reasons shine rather brightly...
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: At its core, and at the core of virtually of all his subsequent work, this is a film exclusively concerned with the representation of ideas. Here it's mainly the way that war corrupts the mind (Kubrick has been interested in the human condition from day one), but strange character monologues, metaphorical and visual messages and ridiculously melodramatic performances are used to show this rather than nuanced and emotionally affecting writing, direction or portrayals. This to many is Kubrick treating his audience with the intelligence that they deserve, but for me this means the film becomes something you dissect rather than watch and engage with. That's a particular problem in this debut feature too as the technical prowess and perfectionism he came to be known for isn't quite so present yet, so even the dissection reveals a fairly lackluster and confused piece of film overall.
  VERDICT: Without his later technical perfectionism, Kubrick's debut helps to build an understanding of his later filmography, and in my case, it made my problems with some of his work very clear indeed.

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