Science fiction movies always seem to be able to feel the progress of science and technology in a timely manner, and have a foreknowledge of the future of mankind. The greatest space movie in film history, "2001: A Space Odyssey", was released a year before man first landed on the moon; and half a century later, when mankind was on the edge of this new space age, "Gravity" was People who are about to fly into space provide the most intuitive space experience.
The story of the film is surprisingly simple. The debris from a Russian missile that destroyed a satellite had a chain reaction in space, hitting a space shuttle that was on a spacewalk to repair the Hubble Telescope. The only two remaining in the instant universe are Dr. Ryan, the payload expert played by Sandra Bullock, and Matt, the mission commander played by George Clooney. When Ryan then lost Matt, she was left alone to survive in the dead space, and finally returned to Earth after all the hardships.
However, despite the simplicity of the story, the experience of space in "Gravity" is unique and believable, thanks to the film's extreme use of long takes and complex camera movements. Director Alfonso Cuaron has radically practiced long-shot shooting in the last film "Children of Man". One of the scenes of a car attack lasted four minutes and used specially modified prop vehicles. With the rocker arm system that can move flexibly, it is organically combined with the scene scheduling and the capture of actors. There are many such long takes throughout the film, and this style has its own advantages. For "Son of Man", which is also a sci-fi film, the long shot makes the apocalyptic space created by the film into a coherent whole, without relying on the illusion created by editing. At the same time, this makes its credibility greatly enhanced. This is just like what Bazin said, "the unity of space is strictly adhered to in photography", but it does not lead to a transcendent reality, but a fictional world. In addition, the abundance of hand-held photography has greatly enhanced the familiar "sense of documentary" acquired through documentaries and news programs. However, as a commercial film, such a style also has to pay a high price. The complex camera movement in a complex space more or less replaces the actors and the narrative, and becomes the protagonist of the film; and the relatively slow narrative rhythm brought about by long takes makes it more difficult for the audience to notice that they are not magnified by the close-up shots. The subtle emotions of the characters make the film superficial.
Fortunately, Alfonso Cuaron chose space as the setting for the story this time. Compared to the ground, space has a unique advantage for long-lens performance. Mitri argues that long takes replace the technique of inserting detail shots in the edit, representing the subject in the spatial structure of the scene. In the most distinctive space scene in "Gravity", the space structure is relatively simple, and there is no need to face the occlusion and obstruction of various things on the ground. For the scheduling of the camera, only the role, the spacecraft, and the earth need to be considered. The relationship between them allows it to move freely and freely in this relatively simple scene. In addition, unlike the plane dimensions in which cameras on the ground can usually only move in parallel, scenes in outer space naturally represent three-dimensional spaces that include vertical dimensions. So we see in the opening 17-minute long shot, with Matt's acrobatic spaceflight sliding across the screen from time to time, the camera is also freed from the constraints of Earth's gravity, as if another person with extraordinary skills. The astronaut, floating freely among the characters, brings the feeling of weightlessness.
And the most interesting interest of the film is also hidden in this simple spatial relationship. Long shots connect Earth, people on its edges, and the vast expanses of space. On one side is the dense lights representing civilization on the earth, and on the other side is the eternal unknown world, and people are trapped on the edge of the two worlds, unable to advance or retreat. The questions raised by the film are worthy of serious discussion by contemporary theorists outside the text of science fiction. How to face nostalgia for a human group that leaves the shelter of the mother planet, walks on the edge of civilization, and faces death at any time. , the existence of endless space and time and self.
Of course, "Gravity" is, after all, a story about an individual human being, so we see that the camera zooms in on people, showing them disproportionately on the screen, making them juxtaposed with the Earth, occupying half of the composition; even the camera opportunities are slow Through the diaphragm of the spacesuit helmet, it directly expresses the faces and emotions of the characters; it will also make people gradually smaller and smaller in the dark universe, allowing the audience to experience the fear of loneliness. The twists and turns of the film belong to Hollywood's classic drama rules, pushing the characters to the brink of life and death again and again, making the audience worry about the fate of the people on the screen.
And the film's answer to the ultimate question posed by itself belongs to optimistic Hollywood, just like the rules of the play. When the hallucination that appears as the mechanical god of the plot finally saves Dr. Ryan, we see that what really saves her is the will and courage of the biological instinct that is found in every Hollywood hero.
Perhaps, for our generation who have the opportunity to look up at the stars but have to keep their feet on the ground, this will to life is the best answer to this question.
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