Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity,” is an awe-inspiring film. Set in the stunningly beautiful, peace and tranquility of outerspace, “Gravity,” tells a simple tale of a fight for survival against impossible odds.
Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her first space shuttle mission. What starts as a routine spacewalk turns into a fight for her life, when space debris dislodges her from the shuttle and sends her hurtling off into space.
Thanks to the quick thinking of her fellow astronaut, Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), Stone is able to make it to the International Space Station.
From there, she fights to find her way back home.
There’s nothing new about “Gravity.” The story of humankind’s amazing ability to adapt and survive has been told hundreds of thousands of times (if not more).
What sets “Gravity,” apart is the sheer scale.
With the backdrop of space, earth seems so small. So one person floating in space…well they might as well be a speck of dust, compared to the cosmos. It can seem a little overwhelming, and you might think it trivializes our very existence, but in fact it does the exact opposite. After all, if we’re it, doesn’t that make every one of our little mundane moments that much more precious?
As Stone begins to lose all hope, she picks up a radio transmission from an Icelandic fisherman. The two can barely communicate due to the language barrier, but in the background, Stone can hear a dog barking and a baby crying. It’s these two simple things that connect them. It’s a beautifully simple, and moving scene.
It’s moments like this that make the film awe-inspiring. Set against a backdrop of planet earth, and mixed with impossible odds, it inspires hope in the human spirit, and reminds us what a well told story can do.
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