The space drama “Gravity” won seven Oscars at last Sunday’s 86th Academy Awards, including best director for Mexico’s Alfonso Cuaron, the first Latin American to be bestowed with such an honor.
While many in the south-of-the-border film community are pleased for the talented movie maker, there is an underlying frustration that success for a few Mexican directors in Hollywood does nothing to ease the problems Mexican-made films face in getting wider distribution both at home and in the United States.
Along with Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Cuaron forms a triumvirate of dynamic Mexican directors who are highly regarded by corporate big-shots in Los Angeles and New York. Backers are willing to dig deep into their pockets to fund their cinematic endeavors, with “Gravity” costing over 100 million dollars and del Toro’s last feature, “Pacific Rim,” reportedly costing 190 million.
Such astronomical numbers can create resentment back home. Although President Enrique Peña Nieto tweeted his pride at Cuaron’s accomplishment on Sunday, there were others who minimized the Oscar, noting that Cuaron now lives abroad and makes films on themes unrelated to Mexican culture and, worse still, that exclude homegrown movies from this country’s cinema screens.
None of this should take away anything from Cuaron’s achievement. Set during a fictitious space shuttle mission, “Gravity” has rightly been lauded for its stunning special effects. Cuaron’s genius, say many of his peers, was not just to orchestrate a groundbreaking and visually stunning space movie, but create an engrossing dramatic environment that always managed to remain – in the eyes of the layman, at least – unsettlingly realistic.
Not remarkably, as a small boy Cuaron had dreamed of being an astronaut. But he was also fixated on becoming a filmmaker and was given his first camera at the age of 12. From then on, making movies became his life’s passion. He studied at film school and worked his way up the ranks of Mexico’s film industry. Getting a big break in 1991, he directed first his feature film, “Sólo con tu Pareja,” which proved to be the turning point in his career. The movie about a womanizer falsely diagnosed with AIDS received wide praise and won prizes at international festivals, prompting some Hollywood producers to sit up and take note.After moving to Los Angeles, Cuaron eventually got to direct the heart-touching feature “A Little Princess,” followed by a modern take on Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow.
After the highly successful coming-of-age road movie, “Y Tu Mamá También,” with Diego Luna and Gael Garcia, Warner Brothers asked Cuaron – who now had a reputation of working screen magic with young actors – to direct “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” the third in the J.K Rowling series.
By now Cuaron had settled in London, England, where he next made “Children of Men,” a futuristic thriller with Julianne Moore and Clive Owen. He used this film to experiment with extended takes – uninterrupted shots that last much longer than the conventional editing pace of a film. His obsession for long takes was to blossom in “Gravity,” which opens with an unbroken 17-minute shot.
Given his childhood fantasies, one may wonder how many hours over the course of his life Cuaron may have spent imagining different scenarios in space. His screenplay for “Gravity,” penned with his son Jonas, piqued the interest of studios but proved slow to get off the ground. The pace quickened after Warner Bros acquired the rights and filming eventually began in May 2011. The live action was shot at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios in England, and the torturous post-production and editing process dragged on for almost two years.
When finally released in October 2013, “Gravity” soared to the top of the box office rankings, and to date has earned more than 700 million dollars worldwide. It was released on DVD/Blue Ray in Mexico at the end of February and is available from Blockbuster and other retail outlets.
Even if you do not consider yourself a fan of space movies, “Gravity” is well worth a gander – especially if you have a large-screen, high-definition television.