Gravity (12A, 90 mins)

Gravity (12A, 90 mins)

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

5 stars

Once in a very rare while, a piece of cinema comes along that could reasonably be described as a "game-changer".It's something that not only shows us things we've never seen on screen before (although any old hack can churn out state of the art visual effects for the sake of it), but does so while offering us levels of emotional involvement and character investment that raise it far above mere spectacle.

Gravity arrives as an event quite simply unlike anything ever before created for cinema screens, a thunderous action thriller set in the merciless emptiness of space, where no-one will hear you scream.

It's Alfonso Cuarón's first film since Children of Men seven years ago and, as is his style, the opening is one of his signature long unbroken shots. After some stats about outer space, we open on the dazzling sight of the earth just below us.

As a dot in the distance grows ever closer, we begin to hear voices and eventually see three astronauts orbiting into our view.

They're on a routine mission to repair the Hubble Telescope, a team comprised of Doctor Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) on her first space outing, and seasoned astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) as well as Shariff, although Phaldut Sharma appears in a voice performance only.

After a few minutes of light-hearted banter from Kowalski, who space-walks while Stone carries out her work, a warning comes from Houston control that some debris from a damaged satellite is heading their way.

Cuarón's camera has been gliding around the astronauts and their station this whole time in seemingly impossible ways, clueing us in on the brilliance of the CGI, and the fact that we're in the hands of a director at the very peak of his craft.

That craft is about to be demonstrated in jaw-dropping ways, as though the trio immediately abort their mission to return to their shuttle, they're unable to get there in time. As the debris crashes into them, Stone and Kowalski are sent hurtling into space, leaving them stranded and floating free and low on oxygen.

From that simple set-up, a plot that is stripped down to its bare bones unfolds with simplicity, purity of purpose and a primal urgency, and subsequent developments are best discovered for yourself.

Unless Cuarón actually took his actors and his camera into space, it's a monumental a technical achievement. It may not have the thematic ambition of, say, 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it's every bit as breathtaking, albeit fashioned with cutting edge digital effects rather than models.

Bullock is completely convincing as someone going through unimaginable horrors. And in many ways, Gravity is almost a horror film, presenting a foe of boundless vastness and danger that can never be beaten or tamed.

From its first moment to its last, it's about survival and nothing more, pummelling us with scene after scene of utterly compelling and relentless terror.

A calm and authoritative Clooney is a reassuring presence, helping the stricken Stone and offering her words of advice and encouragement that are needed almost as much to soothe audience nerves as Stone's but, after Cuarón, this is unquestionably Bullock's film.

It's driven along by a Steven Price score that at first barely registers, but which grows into a celestial choral assault that on its own is enough to provoke chills. Accompanied by the visuals and Bullock's emotionally draining performance, the effect is simply astonishing, providing heart-stopping moments of tension and intensity.

Gravity features some of the most effective uses of silence imaginable, paying heed to the fact that no sound can carry in space, and the moments of quiet only amplify the power of the images.

It also features probably the best use of 3D ever, sucking you in with its depth, then making you duck for cover when bits of spaceship come flying at your head. See it on an IMAX screen and you'll feel like you're clinging on to the edge of infinity.

However you see it, you'll feel like you haven't drawn breath for an hour and a half. Take an oxygen tank and marvel at the cinema experience of the year, and possibly the century.

See it if you liked: Apollo 13, Moon, 2001: A Space Odyssey

French Film Festival

Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, the French Film Festival runs from November 7 until December 7 at the Glasgow Film Theatre and venues around the country.

The festival Gala Premiere on opening night is the charming comedy Attila Marcel, the first live action feature from director Sylvain Chomet, who created a beautifully animated Edinburgh a couple of years ago in The Illusionist.

There will be the first chance to see Francois Ozon's latest, Jeune et Jolie, as well as new movies starring the leading lights of French cinema, from Juliette Binoche and Audrey Tautou to Gerard Depardieu and Romain Duris.

The festival also marks possibly the only chance to see many of these films anywhere outside of France, so look out for gritty teen drama Apaches, thriller Capital from acclaimed Oscar winning director Costa-Gavras, and inspirational equestrian drama, Jappeloup.

But pride of place goes to the first two parts of Daniel Auteuil's reworkings of Marcel Pagnol's oft-filmed Marseille trilogy, Marius and Fanny. These cosy dramas are warm, funny and tender and will whet appetites nicely for the third part, César, due next year.

Full details are available at www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk