Gravity

Gravity is simply excellent. The premise, interpretation, acting performances and shots that are sometimes literally breath-taking are simply excellent. Alfonso Cuarón proved that even now a movie can be created which is able to overcome all kinds of film boundaries. Almost the whole movie takes place in zero gravity and creates a new atmosphere, which I haven’t experienced before. I admit that this movie would be even better in IMAX. I have to admit that after a long time there is a movie where 3-D makes sense. The only issue might be with the story, but personally it did not bother me at all. I will spoil a bit now, but I have to add that the movie 127 hours also proved how a coincidence can create a perfect celebration of life. So why it couldn’t be the same here? (16/10/2013)

2001: A Space Odyssey, which this film reminded me of several times during the screening, confronted man with the great unknown. In Gravity, like in the most classic folk tales (which are usually dominated by a man, not a woman), man is confronted mainly with himself and his (limited) possibilities. This is not the only indication of the film’s classic nature. Another wager on certainty is the three-act narrative structure (three sanctuaries provided by three space stations, each of which representing a different religion) with precisely doled out story complications and exemplary use of deadlines, which contribute to the impression that the things we see are happening in real time and thus nothing is decided and certain in advance. As others have previously described in detail, Gravity is gripping not in spite of but thanks to the use of classic Hollywood narrative formulas. The intensity of the experience is aided by limiting the narrative to what Dr. Stone sees, hears, knows and experiences, as she becomes our avatar for roughly eighty minutes. Perhaps during the most intense moments, we don’t so much fear for her life, but for the perspective that we might lose if we lose her. If there is no Dr. Stone, there will be no way for us to see. What happens in the global context is irrelevant. The film does not disrupt our emotional connection to the central character by dealing with any conflicts other than her internal conflict. Bad things simply happened (her daughter’s death, the debris impact) and now it is up to her to deal with them. In any case, the powerfulness of the Rd. protagonist’s rebirth (including the foetal position and the cutting of the umbilical cord) is due not only to the highly cohesive screenplay and the detailed technical rendering, but also to Sandra Bullock’s performance. Her “howling” at the Moon will remain in my memory as one of the most moving film moments of 2013 and, also thanks to Bullock, the purgative final shot, when the ordinary definitively becomes extraordinary, was also a powerful experience for me that goes beyond film (and beyond sensory perception). In my eyes, that moment, despite its content, elevated Gravity from the level of technical wonder and unique crisis simulator (not only in space) to an encounter with something otherworldly that cannot be described with words or conveyed in images. If we leave aside the theatrical reversals, we could even call it Art. 95% (31/12/2013)

Oxygen level 1%. A nerve-racking space ride that redefines the boundaries of the genre. Especially with its visual style. Cuarón is a master of choreography, a whole damn lot is happening on the screen at once and, in combination with the sound (especially Price’s music), the visuals make this one of the top space adventure movies we have seen this year or maybe ever. Sandra acts well and quite comfortably carries the movie on her shoulders, but Clooney is the real charmer here. There are a few weaker moments, but for a classically structured survival thriller, this time against mother nature and the emptiness of the space. Literally breathtaking. (04/10/2013)

Together with Man of Steel, the most intensive movie experience of the year. Where the new Superman banged with its hectic and endless action, Gravity amazes with the visuals. But not only that, it also makes you root for the fragile protagonist in her struggle against crushing loneliness and the feeling of utter hopelessness. I was expecting a slow, philosophical and depressive movie, but Cuarón surprised me delivering a brisk sci-fi survival that’s very, very far from philosophical boredom. (22/10/2013)

Dear film fans, those of you who missed a story and sophisticated dialogue raise your hands. No, not you Pomo, you always raise your hand. Anyone else? Anyone? Now seriously. Cuarón has created a technological marvel that will make you forget to eat overpriced popcorn and might even make you realise that our life-giving ball called Earth, floating through deadly space, is truly unique and beautiful. Only the 3D seemed unrecognizable and unnecessary, for that we have only the master of three-dimensional experiences Jim Cameron. (13/10/2013)