Examining The Language of Emmanuel Lubezki's Cinematography

Terrence Malick, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro González Iñárritu are all very different directors with one crucial thing in common: Emmanual Lubezki. The three directors and notable others have entrusted the cinematographer with their stories for decades. Lubezki’s resume holds Oscar-winning films, artistic ventures, and throughout indelible images and sequences synonymous to their movies. In celebrating the esteemed, three-time Oscar winner, we look back the language of the image.

Interview: Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki Talks ‘The Revenant,’ Working With Terrence Malick, Muting The Ego & Much More

In a video essay by Fandor, Lubezki’s cinematography is understood through three elements: natural light, long takes, and the search for truth. Lubezki’s work with nature is so intimately captured in Malick’s “Tree Of Life” the image feels like it lives and breathes, a stunning relationship with the environment and harnessing what the world already gives Lubezki to the best advantage.

With the second quality, Lubezki’s long takes have become a staple for his camera work. “Birdman Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance” feels like one whole long take. Giving an added pressure to the cast to be as consistent as possible, Lubezki makes magic behind the scenes of a show, and man, that is only falling apart.

Finally, the search for truth that Lubezki undertakes in his cinematography is a symbolic gesture to the story he is telling. Working in tandem with the directors, Lubezki adds something human to the image. Either conveying the harsh, cruel realities of the world, or the quiet, subtle beauty we only glance at but never pay respect or attention to.

There isn’t a cinematographer like Lubezki: everyone wants to work with him and the number of heavyweight filmmakers who have tapped him – and some of the best directors in the world, like Malick, Iñárritu, Cuarón, Tim Burton, Michael Mann, and the Coen Brothers clamor to work with him — is deeply impressive. He’s captured some of the most staggering sequences and intimate moments in modern cinema, and will continue to do so for many years to come.