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“Gravity is not a science fiction film” – Alfonso Cuarón

During a press conference at the Public Library in Morelia, Daniela Michel, director of FICM, called Gravity by Alfonso Cuarón a masterpiece that marks a milestone in the history of cinema.

Cuarón told the press that the idea for the film emerged when his son, Jonás, gave him the script of Desierto to read. It was a lineal, simple narrative full of suspense and tension that disarms and leaves the viewer vulnerable, he said. “I asked Jonás to help me write something like that.”

On being questioned about the work done by Emmanuel Lubezki in Gravity, the director spared no praise. “El chivo is the co-filmmaker and co-director. There was no impediment in sharing the credits of the film [with him].”

Cuarón said that one of the peculiarities of the work is the cinematic language that is obtained by exploring the relationship between the characters and their context in real time. He pointed out that beyond the special effects, what really was a challenge was the acting. “All of the interpretation was pre-programmed. It was a long and complicated choreography determined by the previous animation that we did,” he added. The director praised the work of Sandra Bullock who, during the preparation and shooting of the film, tried to divest herself of her femininity by creating an androgynous character who would recover her lost identity.

He said that one of the best compliments he has received was from a French astronaut who, after seeing the film, told him that it was really like being in space. “It sounds just like in space,” he said.

Asked about future projects, Cuarón said he’d like to return to making films where people walk. “Gravity got rid of a preconception. I’ve quit the fight between what is cinema and what is art and I don’t know where that will take me,” he said. Speaking about the loneliness of the characters and the religious discourse that some people find in the film, the director was categorical,  “There is nothing intentional, contemplation is not necessarily religious,” he said. “This film is about the religious, spiritual and scientific impulse of life. The end is a Darwinian graphic. There is a Darwinian necessity, the small picture of Saint Christopher on one of the spaceships – patron saint of travelers – is more a cultural curiosity than a religious element.”

Asked about how important realism is in addressing other types of themes, he noted that metaphors come from reality. The frustration of the film would have been creating metaphors when in reality it was about discovering them. “The greatest metaphors are those that do not originate from a concrete image but those that people get from their own cultural baggage,” he said.

Cuarón ended the conference with a statement that for some may have been surprising. “Gravity is not a science fiction film,” he said. “We made a film about the technology we have today in case an astronaut is stranded in space and tries to return home. Gravity was a fun project.”