2001 can be seen as a film that (mostly) exemplifies a conflict-free structure. [spoilers] While the plot of the film has been described as ‘a computer malfun

2001 can be seen as a film that (mostly) exemplifies a conflict-free structure. [spoilers] While the plot of the film has been described as ‘a computer malfunctions and tries to kill the crew of a spaceship’, in fact that part of the film lasts for about 40 minutes — or just over a quarter of the two and a half hour running time. The actual overt conflict is only about 30 minutes, arguably starting right before the intermission when we see that HAL can read the crewmembers’ lips through the window of the soundproof pod. Many films have conflict-free exposition scenes or sequences, but 2001 is interesting because it has a single conflict-containing act within a larger non-conflict structure, which is primarily expository and/or revelatory in nature.