One of the most impressive aspects about this movie, in my opinion, was how adamantly insistent Cuaron was about maintaining realism throughout the film. The most obvious example of this was his decision to use multiple long shots, or long takes, throughout the film. Minimizing the amount of editing to be done made me feel as if I were watching everything firsthand, standing right behind Theo. The other long shot that stood out to me was towards the end of the film when Theo was searching for Key in the deserted building. The long shot with the camera following him down the hallway once again puts the viewer right in the action with the characters. This long shot made me feel as if I myself was looking for Kee.
I also noticed another example of his dedication to realism when we were watching the interview with him during class. When he was discussing filming the car scene in particular, he mentioned that the use of green screens had been suggested. HIs response really stood out to me. Cuaron said that he did not want to use green screens because he wanted the natural light and natural shadows of the trees to be portrayed in his film.
The car scene is incredible to me in the movie because it is so raw and feels so realistic. It shows the horror of the moment by putting you almost in the car with the actors and seeing all that they see. It really filled me with terror and hope that the characters would make it through. The screaming and action brought me deep into the movie set which I enjoyed.
It was interesting to see in the extras the devise they made and all the hours of practice they had to do for the scene. The timing of the stunts, the flaming car, and props all occurring at the right time in the scene is amazing how they got it all right. It is at truly artful scene. The long take scene made that moment lasting in time and the viewer was able to get the full effect of the action and intensity of the scene. It was right for the film to me to have chosen to film that scene in one long take.