Life is what happens when we’re not paying attention. Small, routine moments mark our transition through the world, often going ignored or unnoticed. We live in them, with them. It is here that Alfonso Cuarón sets his story – in the seeming mundanity of the life of a 1970’sMexico City housekeeper named Cleo. Her story is quaint, upon first brush. She tends to a middle-class family, lighter in skin tone than she but suffering their own afflictions nonetheless, and we’re invited to drop in, given visitation rights to observe the lulling normalcy of this chaotic collection of lives.Read More
Discussion of events that occur in Gravity to follow so mild spoilers ahead.
Originally developed as an added feature for the Blu-ray release, the overwhelming love for Gravity has seen this intiguring companion piece, simply titled Aningaaq, come out of the gates early, giving it a shot at an Oscar ”Live-Action Short” nominee. Written with the help of father and Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón‘s short film takes the perspective of the Earth-dwelling eskimo on the other side of the line with Sandra Bullock‘s Dr. Ryan Stone as she decides to flick off life support and gives up on any hope of returning to Earth. The gentle mew of a distant dog, the call of a young baby and an unintelligible lullaby all give Stone a harmonious send off (before she’s shortly thereafter rescued by her hallucination). But what the film never shows us is what, or who, was on the other side of that line. This JonásCuarón‘s counterpiece fixes that in a stunning, and beautiful, manner.
“The filmmaker was especially interested in exploring the pivotal moment in Stone’s survival story from a different perspective – to expose the subtle connections that exist between the two characters even if they aren’t on the same literal page: “It’s this moment where the audience and the character get this hope that Ryan is finally going to be OK. Then you realize that everything gets lost in translation.” Nevertheless, Jonás wanted “to make Aningaaq a piece that could stand on its own” – an effort that, according to Gravity star Sandra Bullock, Jonás nailed. Since its debut, the actress has called Aningaaq an ”absolutely beautiful piece of loneliness,” further stating, “I get goose bumps thinking about it.”
