Gravity: A journey into spaces!

Alfonso Cuaron is a Mexican director whose unique perspective and confident camera work make him a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. In a movie industry dominated by blockbusters that boast high-grossing actors, 3D and special effects, what makes Cuaron’s work stand out is his definitive treatment of these elements.

In his multiple Oscar nominated film Gravity, Cuaron constructs a story that is set entirely in space. The film follows the harrowing journey of two astronauts – Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) – as their routine space shuttle mission goes horribly awry. After the debris from an exploded Russian satellite begins to hurl around the orbit of the Earth, the two astronauts witness the destruction of their shuttle. They drift through the vast recesses of outer space, some 370 miles above Earth, struggling to survive the unforgiving conditions while finding a way home.

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

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Alfonso Cuaron, together with masterful cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, juxtaposes familiar realms with the unfamiliar. The astronauts straddle the terrain between two worlds, that of Earth - magnificent, majestic, and comforting – and that of space – infinite, mysterious, and frightening. The camera flows seamlessly, shifting from third person to first person points of view. There is ample use of long shots which are used effectively to dissuade the audience from looking away even for a second. The visuals have a mesmerizing hold on the viewer.

Bullock is remarkable as the rookie astronaut who must battle her inner demons as much as external obstacles. Clooney, as the veteran mission commander with a penchant for spinning yarns, is endearing. The journey of these characters is as much spiritual as it is physical.

The film explores the binaries of science and faith, heaven and earth and life and death. These dualities are not in conflict with each other, rather they are coexistent. While space exploration is seen as the pinnacle of human advancement, there is a recurrent motif of God as an omnipresent force.

The director’s creative audacity, the unparalleled cinematography and the portrayal of the indomitable human spirit are reasons that make Gravity a visual odyssey which must not be missed.

- Parinitha Shinde

A Dark Truth: Fighting tyranny of privatisation!

The film A Dark Truth (2012) is a very relevant film for our times. It deals with an issue that has lasting impact on the future of democracies: namely the unapologetic embrace of market economy and privatisation. The trend today is for governments to slowly withdraw from their key responsibilities and hand them over to the private sector. What this essentially means is allowing markets to determine people’s lives in all possible ways. While water is being privatised in several countries, days are not far away when even the air we breathe may be up for sale. 

Director: Damian Lee

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In the film, a private company has made water as the most precious commodity, of course, in connivance with governments. In Ecuador, the army is killing thousands of people just to hush up the sins of this company. However, the film shows that there are still some sane voices out there who do not want to give up and they fight till the end to bring the dark truth out. Of course, Francisco Francis, who leads the fight back regrets that he responded violence with violence. He comes to know through his own experience that Gandhi’s ways are more practical and effective than those of Mao.

Forest Whitaker as Francisco Francis and Andy Garcia as Jack Begosian make a deep impression. While the film may have exaggerated the reality a bit, the point is well made. The world is not in itself unequal, but greed makes it so. However, the optimistic note that comes up at the end of the film is what is declared by one of the characters in the film: everything has a price, but everything need not be for sale.

- Melwyn Pinto SJ