Gravity

Cuando el universo es el contenido de tu trabajo, es literalmente un deber ver Gravitación. Por una serie de circunstancias, mi reserva en el IMAX se canceló unas cuatro veces, finalmente logré llegar a la penúltima presentación del último día de proyección. A medianoche, Thor la reemplazó. Estaba muy emocionado por el viaje en 3D por el espacio, ya que solo había leído y escuchado alabanzas sobre él. Y tal vez eso fue un error, debería haberlo visto entre los primeros, tal vez hubiera ido al cine con expectativas más bajas y hubiera estado menos decepcionado. Esperaba una experiencia absolutamente impresionante, algo que me dejara boquiabierto, me mantuviera pegado a la silla y pensando en ello durante mucho tiempo. Pero nada de eso sucedió, incluso me sorprendí un par de veces distraído por otros pensamientos. Me doy cuenta de que las críticas también son negativas aquí y creo que con el tiempo podría salir del Top 200. No quiero parecer negativo, así que agregaré que visualmente es una película bonita y que probablemente vale la pena ver, pero simplemente no es una revolución en mi opinión, tal vez solo una costosa campaña publicitaria sobre el problema de la basura espacial. (21.11.2013)

Gravity no es sobre una historia. Prácticamente no la hay. Nos enteramos lo mínimo sobre los únicos dos personajes, y solo con uno de ellos nos es permitido formar un vínculo emocional. Gravity es sobre transmisión del sentimiento. Es un drama de supervivencia espacial en el que esquivas escombros voladores, intentas no gastar oxígeno y agarrarse de algo. Una película vivencial, cinematográficamente única, y la única en su género. Pero, ¿cuánto tiempo resonará en nosotros, si le falta una idea más fundamental o una conclusión más sorprendente? Con Sandra, que actúa como si fuera el último papel de su vida, recordaremos la película más que sin Sandra. Una película que no tiene absolutamente ningún sentido ver si no es en la pantalla grande de un cine. (24.09.2013)

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)

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)

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)