Warning: Thar be spoilers ahead if you haven’t yet seen the film ‘Gravity’ and if you haven’t, please remedy that. It’s awesome. Believe me and believe Richard Roeper.
In a crucial moment of Alfonso Cuaron’s outstanding film ‘Gravity,’ Sandra Bullocks character, Dr. Ryan Stone, sends out a mayday call from a space capsule radio that is picked up by an earth-bound stranger speaking a language Bullock doesn’t recognize. It’s a moment of calm contemplation for Bullock’s character, facing what she thinks is death. In the original film, it’s a beautiful moment of quiet in a movie filled with so much disaster and kinetic action.
But who is Aningaaq, the voice on the other side of the radio? This short, directed by Cuaron’s son Jonas (who, by the way, co-wrote the ‘Gravity’ screenplay with his pop), answers that question and it’s as equally beautiful as its companion moment, sharing some of the film’s thematic elements.
Produced for $100,000 and shot in Iceland, the short-film was originally designed for the Blu-Ray release of ‘Gravity,’ according to The Hollywood Reporter. But success on the festival circuit led to Warner Brothers submitting it in the live action short film category for the Academy Awards. With ‘Gravity’ an early favorite to secure a Best Picture nomination, that means that two companion films from a father-son duo could pull down some Oscar hardware.
Neat, huh?
Watch the short film, via The Hollywood Reporter, below.