Alfonso Cuaron

However this film is from 2006, it is the pre-last full-length film of the director of “Gravity”. “Children Of Men” is also a sci-fi, but a wholly different from the space adventures of “Gravity”.

In an initially bleak, but lateron downright apocalyptic future, mankind has become infertile making a cult of the young. This infertility is only one of the problems. There is massive inequality. In the UK the situation is the least bad of the globe and many go their to test their luck. These immigrants are aggressively kept apart from the original inhabitents who enjoy a relatively good life. Activists try to change the system and persuade the former activist (and now bureaucrat) Theo to assist in their cause.

The atmosphere of the film is descent and the story makes easy links to our own time thus making “Children Of Men” a film to think about.

However everybody says this film is great, it was not very high on my wishlist. Then there is this new theatre in town that we wanted to check out and “Gravity” seemed like a logical choice (I did not expect to find it in a filmhouse though). Well, “Gravity” is great!
I suppose the big screen adds to the experience and perhaps the 3D did as well, but this film is a magnificent spectacle. Three people are sent to space in a spaceshuttle to add something to the Hubble telescope. One is the doctor Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), another the seasoned astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). The first part of the film the viewer is given magnificent images from space and a glance at the hard work without gravity. Things do not go as planned and Stone and Kowalski find themselves in space with only their spacesuits to protect them. Kowalski’s plan is to get to the ISS (International Space Station) to find a way to get back to earth. Of course this is not something they easily accomplish and some drama and action unfolds.
A large part of the film is just you watching Bullock and Clooney, but a considerate part is all about Bullock. With everybody who says the same, I can tell you that inspite me not being a big Bullock fan, she really manages to carry the film and get most of her emotions accross. What is more, inspite of being born in 1964, Bullock looks very good in her out-of-spacesuit-outfit. There are some little annoyances and especially some dramatic elements are overdone, but “Gravity” definately manages to raise the tension to high peaks and brought me a lot of ‘what would I do?’ moments. Story-wise there are a few elements that I am not too sure about they are factual, but however I tagged this film as ‘science fiction’, I think the director probably had ‘science fact’ mind.
Yep, “Gravity” has the grandeur and magnificence of a big Hollywood production, but the tension and emotion of a classic. A great movie indeed.