Review of Room 237 (2012) by Panta O — 03 Dec 2013

Any documentary which can inform me, persuade me and at the same time entertain me will always get my high rating... and this one is first ever for me! Directed by Rodney Ascher about perceived meanings in Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining, the film includes footage from The Shining, and other Kubrick films, along with discussions by a number of Kubrick enthusiasts. The film has nine segments, each segment focusing on different elements within the film which "may reveal hidden clues and hint at a bigger thematic oeuvre." It was a real treat of intelligent clues and amazing details.

The film was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and I could imagine how much critics enjoyed it. One of the most intelligent men on the planet, a man passionate about his work, showed us a great sense of humour in some of the hidden clues and messages in The Shining, and brilliance in the rest. This documentary positions The Shining as a comparably coiled, thematically overflowing microcosm-standing in for cinema, for history, for obsession, for postmodern theory buckling under the film's heft... and much, much more.

Even if the theories are not true, it is an enjoyable piece of art.