Fear and Desire
Stanley Kubrick did not really come into his own as the Kubrick we know until 1962’s “Lolita.” His first decade of films are largely war or crime films, with 1960’s “Spartacus” feeling like a bit of an outlier that he only worked on because his “Paths of Glory” star, Kirk Douglas, wanted him to direct it. That isn’t to say that Kubrick was not already starting to fine-tune his style, figure out his narrative and thematic interests, in those early films, but it’s a big leap going from “Paths of Glory,” “The Killing,” “Killer’s Kiss” and his first film, “Fear and Desire” (which he disowned) to the likes of “Dr. Strangelove” and “Full Metal Jacket” and “Barry Lyndon,” although he definitely had an upward trajectory in that direction by the time he made “Paths of Glory.” Kubrick’s early films are more curiosities than must-sees, but if you’re a fan of his, you do owe it to yourself to see them.
You can see, in the 62 minutes of “Fear and Desire,” why Kubrick disowned the film, although I am grateful he was unable to get it destroyed. It follows four soldiers (Kenneth Harp, Frank Silvera, Paul Mazursky and Stephen Coit) as they are behind enemy lines in a fictitious war zone, and they try to make their way back to their side without getting caught. Along the way, we hear their fears and desires, hence the title, as they think about getting back to their normal lives, and try not to get killed.
There are some shots scattered throughout this film, and especially at the start, that show the compositional eye Kubrick (who also photographed and edited this film) would master later in his career, but narratively, the film is juvenile and not fully formed. There’s a moment with a girl (Virginia Leith) who comes across the soldiers, and the insanity one of them experiences as he guards her while the other soldiers look for shelter and food, that is just loopy and bizarre, and there is not much weight behind the ruminations the soldiers espouse on the soundtrack. It does fit within the framework of “Paths of Glory” and “Full Metal Jacket” as an anti-war film from Kubrick, but it ultimately is nothing more than an early exercise in filmmaking from a photographer who would need time to grow into a cinematic master. This is probably going to be the only time I will ever watch “Fear and Desire.” For a Kubrick fan, that’s really all you need.
