Now I’ve seen many, many films in my short 18 years on earth. As a media student at university, films are so important to me. Films are something of a medium that can transcend and take you to any level of emotion once you connect with it. Film are a way of life for me. Many films come and go and often some will stick with me long after I’ve left the cinema. And that is just what my No. 1 film does. I will confess, I regret not seeing this in the cinema first time, and it was only on my second watch that I truly knew that was sheer perfection. And that is why, 2017’s Best Picture winning Moonlight, is my all-time favourite film. It is the closest thing to perfection there is.
I am neither black or gay, nor do I live in poverty in Miami, but I was able to connect to this film like no other, not for those specific themes, but for the one overarching theme: identity. During our lives we all have moments where we contemplate our own identity. Moonlight doesn’t provide us with that answer. Except urges us to explore it ourselves. It says that we are not defined by anything in our lives.
For those who are unfamiliar with Moonlight, or only know of its existence because of the La La Land mix up, the film follows Chiron through 3 stages in his life: Childhood, Adolescence and Adulthood. Shot with beautiful cinematography and haunting story beats, Moonlight lets us see into the world of Chiron, based on a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Whether it be his abuse mother or his struggles with his sexuality during his teenage years, by the end of the film, we feel we know Chiron. We can feel what he’s feeling, and we can connect with his pain. Moonlight is a remarkable film, it is filmmaking at its best and lets us have a glimpse, and even sympathise, with a life we do not know.
Anarchist Analysis 