Gravity (BD) [Blu-ray]

Gravity is a beautifully realized film that blends thrilling action and awe-inspiring images of space with a moving portrayal of Ryan Stone’s inner life. What begins as a survival thriller gradually reveals itself as the story of a grieving mother’s healing and transformation. Gravity opens with a black screen, ominous music, and several statements about space: “There is nothing to carry sound, no oxygen, and no air pressure. Silence. Life here is impossible.” As the astronauts come into view making repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting earth, we’re keenly aware of their vulnerability. This is juxtaposed with the beauty of the shimmering earth below, impossibly cradled in the vast emptiness of space and the stars beyond. Ryan, however, is focused on her work, uninterested or too preoccupied to notice these things. We soon learn that she suffered the loss of her four-year-old daughter in a freak accident. She shut down after this, going through the motions of life, “I wake up, I go to work and then I just drive.” The trauma of this loss is not an incidental detail; it is the emotional core of the movie. Space is a compelling metaphor for Ryan’s emotional and spiritual condition. Judith Herman wrote: “Traumatized people feel utterly abandoned, utterly alone, cast out of the human and divine systems of care and protection that sustain life.” Dissociation is one way people survive trauma - it blunts feelings that would otherwise be too much to take in. But it comes at the cost of disconnecting from ourselves and others, and it prevents emotional processing. So, when Ryan becomes literally untethered from the shuttle, spinning into the void, it mirrors her inner situation. The moment is terrifying, but also strangely serene. Suspended against a field of stars, she appears almost held by the vastness she’s falling into. How does one come to trust life, or the universe, after a devastating and capricious loss? Somehow Ryan needs to find this in order to open again. This development is foreshadowed when she finally reaches the safety of the International Space Station, removes her spacesuit, and unconsciously curls into a fetal position. Stripped of her protective layers, both physical and psychological, she appears small and exposed but once again held by the weightlessness of space, like an infant in the womb. She crosses the station to the Russian Soyuz capsule; however the fuel tanks are empty, and she appears to be stranded. She radios Houston for help but instead connects with an Inuit fisherman who is using a ham radio and doesn’t speak English. This is another moment of profound disconnection which veils a deeper kind of support. Ryan hears his dogs barking and begins to howl in response. It is an unguarded, almost primal expression that gives way to tears, as though something long sealed off has begun to break through. When the fisherman on the other end starts singing a lullaby to his child, the timing feels uncannily compassionate. Reality almost seems to be conspiring to nurture her in a way that feels deeper than words, and the moment marks a turning point. Her defenses soften and feelings begin to return. The subsequent “visitation” from Kowalski could be a hallucination, dream, or spiritual encounter. In this moment, Ryan finds the clarity and resolve she hasn’t yet been able to access. She now seems open enough to hold both an acceptance of death and a renewed sense of the preciousness of life. Underlying this shift is a tension familiar to grief. To continue living can feel like a betrayal of the one who has been lost, while remaining bound to grief can feel like a form of loyalty. Ryan may be caught in this bind. Her emotional withdrawal protects her from the grief she clings to but also freezes it in place. As she begins to let go, the loss doesn’t disappear, it may even feel closer, but it no longer shuts everything else down. What emerges is an open-heartedness that allows love to extend beyond what is gone and back into a fuller kind of living. It’s reflected in Ryan’s almost exultant tone when she says: “Either I... make it down there in one piece... or I burn up in the next ten minutes. Either way... I'm ready." Even at her most alone, the film keeps suggesting something else – hard to name, easy to miss – that she is somehow supported, even in the emptiness of space. A similar theme is explored in Jacob's Ladder, which likewise uses a disorienting and often threatening reality to reflect an inner struggle with loss. In that film, a line often attributed to Meister Eckhart suggests that what burns in hell is not the soul itself, but the attachments it cannot release. Ryan has also gone through a passage of fire, her space capsule literally engulfed in flames as she plummets through the atmosphere. Much more could be written about the symbolic imagery in the film, as well as the acting, cinematography, sound, and special effects. I’ve centered this review on what I see as the emotional core, the human story of a heart opening through grief into something that feels sublime. It is that story which keeps bringing me back.

This movie has many visual effects that the average person would consider breath-taking yet believable having seen many of the "shots" from real life Space Shuttle and other videos of today. It allowed the viewer to experience them in a unique way however, actually having feel of the lack of gravity. The movie had a hidden "pholosophical" undertone that was buried in the video experience. The distress of the characters - and the simplicity (only really 2 charactiers) leant to a very personal relationship. The writer/producer/directors of this movie were conveying many hidden meanings (the floating fetal position, et al). It was ultimately a story of the "will to live" - "to survive", and the willingness to accept an end when all hope seemed lost (the Chinese capsule - shutting down the air) only to have something deep inside rejuvinate her spirit. The title "Gravity" seemed to refer to the "lack" of gravity throughout. I must admit the "luck" involved in the capsule separating and finding its way back to Terra Firma was a bit unfathomable - being oriented properly so as to enter with heat-shields down and such. But artistic license toward the climax made it acceptible. In the end the true basis for the title "Gravity" became totally clear as she crawled to the shoreling and struggled to stand up - ah - the beauty of the gravity so many complain about as things drop to be picked up. She loved "Gravity" that point and we see its importance suddenly. Sandra Bullock, her good looks aside, is an amazing actress who filled the bill well. Clooney was excellent if not complete himself, albeit in a space suit. The use of a female astronaut was a good move, showing the strength of a woman and how a man complimented her instincts to survive. I watched the DVD 3 times, once alone - taking in mostly the effects as such video experiences will do and not really absorbing the meaning or plot. The second time with the wife, she loved it. I worried that a Sy-Fy flick like this would not appeal to her (she likes fun family, chick-flicks normally. She enjoyed a lot (a surprise to me). The third time I had my brother in law over and we watched it together, I pretending I hadn't seen it yet. He was enthralled with the story and effects. In the end, we showed it to the group of seniors here at the senior condo. The minimal, but appropriate, cursing by Bullock when in dire straits was not offensive with an occasion Sh.. and F..k done very quietly and in a moment of fear. Our Monday evening entertainment night showing went very well. All seemed to enjoy it on the 75 inch screen. My unit has a 57-inch with surround sound so it was very enjoyable there too. This movie uses almost no sub-bass so a decent sound system is adequate. Surround adds a little with some audio shooting from behind - but not too much. It is well produced for a quality visual and audio experience without expensive gear. I highly recommend it.

Increíble edición de esta gran película, en caja metálica y encima incluyendo varios discos entre ellos uno de extras. La edición mas completa que hay sobre esta gran producción y a un precio muy asequible. Si tienes 3D es impactante el grado de realismo , solo por eso ya se lleva puntos a favor. Si buscáis acción o una película rápida no es la mejor opción pero a cambio os llevaréis una joya por su crudeza visual tan lograda del espacio y nuestro planeta. Muy original la historia que sabran admirar aquellos que os guste la temática espacial. Decir que la interpretación de Sandra Bullock me encantó pero George Cloone no me llamó la atención.

Después de buscarla mucho en 3D sin suerte me aventuré a comprarla en edición Alemana. Incluye audio en Castellano y original asi que perfecto. Aunque solo es formato 3D, no viene ningún otro Blu-ray para verla en cualquier TV o reproductor. Aparte de eso estoy contento con la compra. La película transmite una sensación de agobio y de impotencia brutal, es muy buena y esta muy bien hecha. Y es una de las pocas pelis en las que poder ver una vieja lanzadera en 3D

Gravity (2013) directed by Alfonso Cuaron "Life in space is impossible." That's how it opens, this quote and darkness and then we're sunning up to the majestic slow-turning orb of the Earth rising up and out of us as if the screen has suddenly become a window on an alien and dangerous environment. We can already hear the crackled voice of George Clooney and other astronauts and the pinprick of white against the endless dark soon resolves itself into a space shuttle. This is a stella film not because of the stomach-wrenching effects - in Imax cinemas people were suffering vertigo - and not because of the massive screen stars that are Clooney and Bullock. This is such a powerful story because it understands its own theme and reverberates to it through every act. "Life in space is impossible." And we are fools to try, we are puny, pathetic, childish gods who think we can buck nature and the enormity of space humbles us utterly. The effects are seamless, so seamless that we don't notice them although 81 of the 90 minutes have been created digitally by the British company Framestore. It is the story here that trumps all technical brilliance and there's that commodity in spades. Sandra Bullock is excellent and it is the puniness of her one human life held up against the immense, indifferent cold of space that begins to turn that opening theme into its antithesis. Life in space is impossible, but life for Dr Ryan Stone on Earth has been impossible too. Her daughter died in a freak fall before the age of five and she is lonely, grieving and lost. Her marriage broke apart and she fell into her work. Now lost in space after a cataclysmic event destroys her shuttle she must try to make it to the International Space Station to find a way back to Earth. Space is silent, space is pure action and reaction and we get some beautiful experiences of the Newtonian mechanics of colliding objects as the the swarm of deadly shrapnel that destroyed the shuttle orbits the Earth again and again lacerating Stone's other chances of survival. Life in space is impossible yes, but Stone survives against the odds, giddy from lack of oxygen, giddy on still being alive and locked in the capsule of the space station Clooney manages to get her to before he bows out, she spins in the foetal position truly alive perhaps for the first time in years. This is transformative, incredible cinema, adventure, drama and deadly beauty in such a breath-taking package you'll need to take travel sickness pills. Of course it's had all of the plaudits and Oscars and sparkling reviews, a virtually unheard of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes for example. But the reviews are all true, space without the terror and stomach-churn of going there and what is so poignant and clever is that out there in a place where life is impossible we discover that no of it matters, the politics, the petty nonsense and that what we have, our mortal, puny lives is the single most unifying thing that binds us. Life is possible here and only here. Gravity pulls us to our home, gravity holds us here and within its thrall we have the glorious opportunity to truly appreciate what a wonder being here at all is. You need to see this film, ideally at the cinema, if you can bear it, at an Imax. Probably best not buy popcorn in the foyer though. ***** Five stars

Solitamente quando recensisco un film su disco preferisco dare il voto sulla base della qualità dell'edizione piuttosto che del film, la cui bellezza è soggettiva. In questo caso il film è meraviglioso ma è l'edizione che sorprende, in primo luogo per la qualità video che è ottima, ma questo potremmo anche aspettarcelo da un film del 2013. La cosa incredibile è però la qualità e quantità di contenuti speciali, con il il regista, i tecnici e gli attori che spiegano ogni dettaglio della produzione, c'è persino un corto collegato alla trama del film! Bluray assolutamente da avere!

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