THREE BY CUARÓN written by SMC Founder Craig Hammill
THREE BY CUARON #3: We wanted to explore 3 of Cuaron's previous films today. First up is the last movie he made in Mexico before ROMA, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. It tells the story of two teenage friends on the cusp of adulthood who go on a road trip with a woman in her 30's in the hopes of basically having sex with her. She's fully aware of that dynamic and has reasons of her own (which she keeps secret) for wanting to take the trip. This movie, along with CHILDREN OF MEN, are probably this programmer's favorite two Cuarons. It's one of those rare movies where the story and the style are equally powerful and exciting. They combine to make one electric, free-wheeling, yet ultimately profound and bittersweet movie. Cuaron and his longtime cinematographer, the great Emmanuel Lubezki, feel clearly inspired by the movies of the French New Wave-Godard and Truffaut-in particular. In fact, JULES AND JIM feels very much like a direct inspiration. But they marry this to a tremendous feeling for Mexico and its people. You'll notice in the framing of the still used here, the wide angle deep focus cinematography. Our main characters are always shown in context with the Mexico they are passing through. Cuaron strikes this programmer as one of those filmmakers clearly possessed of a profound spirituality. But interestingly and admirably, Cuaron is able to suffuse that subtly throughout his pictures. It's there for those who want it. Not there for those who don't. When the main characters finally get to a beach called "Boca De Cielo" they didn't believe actually existed (the name translates roughly to "the mouth of heaven" or the "entrance to heaven") you can actually think about that or ignore it altogether. Cuaron doesn't hammer it too hard. But the beach takes on a very powerful significance for all three characters. A tremendous movie that marries huge laughs and explicit sex with a very powerful awareness and grace.
THREE BY CUARON #2: Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004, UK/USA) Cuaron followed Y TU MAMA by directing the third Harry Potter movie. Here he established a fascinating pattern of alternating between deeply personal projects with fairly effects heavy big budget popcorn films. Except here, Cuaron makes a Harry Potter movie FEEL like a Cuaron movie. AZKABAN tells the story of Harry, Hermione, and Ron now full blown teens as they deal with the news that Harry's uncle, the dangerous criminal Sirius Black has escaped prison and may be coming to exact revenge on Harry. Cuaron's clear feeling and tenderness towards teens and young adults (on display in Y TU MAMA & ROMA as well) serves him well in crafting a Harry Potter movie that subversively pulses with the versimilitude of what it actually feels like to be a hormone exploding teenager. On top of this, Cuaron brings an admirable darkness and danger that makes the whole adventure thrilling. The final third of the movie contains an ingenious plot device and reveal (big props to JK Rowling because they come from the book). But also a frank and touching emotionality. It was reported that Cuaron and Rowling butted heads on the movie as two hugely creative forces would. But that irritant produced possibly one of the greatest big budget series' movies of the last twenty years. Like Scorsese makes documentaries in between features to learn new techniques to fold into narrative, Cuaron feels like a director who both brings to and takes from the big budget movie a bag of directorial touches that enrich both his large and small scale movies.
THREE BY CUARON #1: Children of Men (2006, UK/USA) Cuaron would follow up AZKABAN with another genre book adaptation set in the UK only this time he trades in fantasy adventure for dystopian sci-fi. In many ways, it's fascinating to note how Cuaron essentially made four back to back movies (starting with Y TU MAMA and ending with GRAVITY) that contained either epic road trips/action-adventure or both. Children of Men though may be Cuaron's masterpiece so far. In a not so distant future where humans can no longer have children and society is quickly devolving into anarchy, xenophobia, and a police state, Theo gets a visit from the wife who disappeared after the death of their child to ask him to help her with an underground cause. The underground cause turns out to be a miraculously pregnant refugee. And Theo has to try to get her to a rendezvous with a boat called the TOMORROW which may be mankind's last hope for continuing on. If certain bells are ringing for folks out in the audience-a man who is not the father of the child shepherding a refugee woman involved in a miraculous birth-that's no accident. But again, Cuaron handles this with a tremendous delicacy. The sci-fi future Cuaron envisions is terrifyingly plausible. Relocation camps/Detention centers for immigrants/refugees. A society so divided by tribal politics, the have nots literally come out of the woods to attack the haves. But at its core, is the story of a person who was spiritually dead reawakening to the meaning life has when one helps others. The movie is also one of the most stylistically daring movies of the last 20 years with two "oners" (uninterrupted long running shots) filled with so much action, choreography, stunts, and practical effects it makes the head spin. In the end, the whole movie plays like an action-adventure story running in the mind of someone who didn't realize they were also deep in prayer.
Written by Secret Movie Club founder Craig Hammill