The music video received favorable reviews from critics . Soman S. Chainani from '' The Crimson '' was positive in his review , stating , " The video is deliciously subversive . In a sense , Madonna consciously sheds layers of her post-modern act during the 4:25 minute video , daring us to piece together its clues . " Labelling it a " surreal " video with " angular " imagery and direction , he concluded , " Random ? Of course not . Realizing it 's all the pieces of a puzzle , we grasp the stunning answer . Madonna is , in all truth , a modern-day Geisha . She is trapped within her corridor , without the least privacy , but she is free to perform . " A reviewer from HitFix commented , " The video is a gorgeous futuristic creation and one of Madonna 's most underrated videos . Dark and hypnotic , ' Matters ' features unconventional choreography that was initially off putting to many ( at least for 1999 ) , but in actuality director Johan Renck has created a visual spectacle that demands repeat viewing . It also features one of Madonna 's more inspired video performances . " At the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards , Renck , Bjorn Benckert and Tor-Bjorn Olsson were all nominated for Best Special Effects in a Video . This was Madonna 's second sub-credited nomination in that category , having been nominated , and eventually won for the same award a year prior with her single " Frozen " . Madonna was also nominated three times for her single " Beautiful Stranger " that same year . However , Renck , Benckert , and Olsson lost to Sean Broughton , Stuart D. Gordon and Paul Simpson of Digital Domain with their work on " Special " by American-Scottish band Garbage ; this remains Madonna 's final video to be nominated in that category
1999 MTV Video Music Awards
1999 MTV Video Music Awards
Nothing Really Matters