Stanley Kubrick
Lolita

In the 1950s, the novel "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov appeared, since then Lolita has become synonymous with an adolescent who arouses desire. Consequently, the question arises: What is it that fascinates and connects youth, virginity, and sex? Why did the aging Humbert Humbert become infatuated with a young girl to the point of marrying her mother just to stay close to her? The answer can only be private and personal because such a love bond, both then and now, is not accepted in our culture.

No other director felt at ease in every film genre like Stanley Kubrick. An individualist and perfectionist to the point of having scenes repeated endlessly, often pushing actors to the limits of their physical and mental endurance, he is now considered the one who set new patterns and guidelines in almost every category of film. Kubrick is the master in reinventing literary works brought to the screen, with "Lolita" being one of his most famous realizations adapted from a book. A work that sparked controversy back then and still divides critics today. The screenplay, adapted by Nabokov himself, tells the unfortunate story of Lolita and Professor Humbert, a man at the mercy of an amorous obsession, stirred by the allure of an adolescent. Since the censorship of the time did not allow the depiction of the sexual relationship between a mature man and a young girl, the film underwent many modifications compared to the novel. Forced to cleanse the film of eroticism, Kubrick focuses on Humbert's morbid delusion for Lolita, accentuating the grotesque dimension of the supporting characters, with the sometimes pitiful, sometimes cruel portrayal of Lolita's mother, but above all with the depiction of his antagonist and double Quilty, played by Peter Sellers, who even before "Dr. Strangelove" shows some of his successful transformations in this film. Only the general structure of the novel remained.

Literature professor Humbert Humbert, while searching for accommodation, meets the lonely widow Charlotte Haze. His initial reluctance to accept the room vanishes at the sight of her daughter Lolita sunbathing in the garden. This is where the tragedy sets its course, the professor abandons all reluctance, rents the room, and some time later marries the pedantic Charlotte. Fate aids the professor when the woman dies in an accident. Finally free, he can reunite with the object of his desire that the mother had distanced him from, and hopes to be with her forever, but his desire will remain unfulfilled. The second part of the film centers on a long journey, during which the two protagonists move from one motel to another. During the long hours spent driving, Humbert suspects they are being followed, a suspicion that proves to be true, as Clare Quilty, Lolita's theater teacher, is tracking them. His ominous presence looms over the "fugitives" throughout their absurd wandering. He will be killed by Humbert, a scene Kubrick cleverly inserts at the beginning, which will connect with the final scene after the deed is done. The essence of the film can be summarized in the figure of Humbert, a slave to the erotic conflicts he feels towards the nymph, a victim of his passion, he consciously and unscrupulously leads her to share his same fate. However, there is no hatred towards him, because even though he is driven by an unhealthy desire, it is a genuine feeling that leads him to humiliate himself and become ridiculous in the eyes of others, because the love he feels for Lolita is above everything else.