A new 1984: An under-rated masterpiece and an important piece of cinema

Rating: 10/10 (18 January 2007)

In settings, cinematography, sound, lighting, casting, and above all, directorship this is mature film-making. The triumph is two-fold; firstly, it is remarkably low-key and refuses to shout its stunning credentials; it does not hit you over the head, but rather invites you to be the camera's eye, and secondly, none of the huge amount of detailing detracts from an unbelievably assured storyline; and the detailing shows in every shot. And it is the visual surprises that linger; just trying to take in the detailing in every shot is a delight; the faces and crowd-work, the graffiti, the modelling and styling of cars, architecture etc; the interiors are extraordinary in every setting, and the future touches are subdued and understated.
In the action sequences I have never seen or heard better bullet squibs: a totally different experience from the normal pumped-up ubereffects. Only wardrobe and hairstyling jerk us back too fast to where we are coming from. What is evident is a huge amount of love, care, and creativity has gone into the production design - and the production teams should get great work from this.
Cuarón captures a zeitgeist about fears of the political now and pushes it into a future that echoes our subconscious. I would hesitate to get preachy here and call it political satire directly, but you need look no further than Orwell and Bradbury for a suitable frame of reference. Though the pacing, story-telling, and look and feel certainly do not weigh down the film in any way: it is hugely enjoyable.
Is it a great film? What makes film great? Not that they made you laugh, or cry, or think; or even captured the zeitgeist. Rather, they linger. They invade the senses, and touch that part of us that we forget exists now and then...
We came away inspired and talking about how the film is a in a very real and powerful sense a call to ourselves: what world do we want? Are we so afraid of each other in other countries and cultures? What world do we want for our children to inherit?
We loved it: exciting, moving, and original.
One of the best films of the decade so far. Go see.