Gravity

Si l’univers constitue votre pain quotidien, Gravity est un must. Par une série de coïncidences, j’ai perdu plus ou moins quatre fois ma réservation à l’IMAX, mais j’ai finalement réussi à assister à l’avant-dernière séance du dernier jour de projection – à minuit, le film était remplacé par Thor. J’étais très emballé à l’idée de faire un trip en 3D dans l’espace, d’autant plus que je n’avais lu et entendu que des commentaires élogieux. Et c’est peut-être là mon erreur : si j’étais allé le voir parmi les premiers, j’aurais eu moins d’attentes et donc moins de chances d’être déçu. Je m’attendais à une tuerie absolue, quelque chose qui me laisse bouche bée, me cloue à mon siège et qui me fasse réfléchir pendant longtemps. Eh bien, il n’en fut rien ! Je me suis d’ailleurs surpris à penser à autre chose à une ou deux reprises. Je constate d’ailleurs que l’évaluation générale de ce site est en train de retomber et, à mon avis, il ne restera pas longtemps dans le top 200. Je ne veux pas passer pour quelqu’un de négatif et je reconnais que ce film est visuellement agréable et qu’il vaut peut-être la peine d’être vu, mais il n’est pas non plus révolutionnaire ; tout au plus constitue-t-il une bonne pub pour la problématique des déchets cosmiques. (21/11/2013)

Avec Gravity, ce n’est pas l’histoire qui nous intéresse, d’autant que celle-ci est quasi inexistante. On n’apprend qu’un strict minimum sur les deux seuls personnages et l’attachement émotionnel n’est possible qu’avec l'un d'entre eux. Gravity cherche plutôt à transmettre un sentiment. C'est un drame de survie dans l'espace où l’on esquive des débris volants, conserve son oxygène et essaye d'attraper quelque chose. Un film expérientiel et unique en son genre. Mais combien de temps peut-il résonner en nous, sans une idée plus porteuse et une conclusion plus surprenante ? Sandra se donne comme si sa vie en dépendait réellement et prolonge quelque peu cette résonance. Un film qui n’a de raison d’être que sur grand écran. (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)

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)

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)