Moonlight - Digital HD [4K UHD]

After the confusion surrounding the end of this year's Academy Awards telecast, I screened both "La La Land" and "Moonlighting." I suspected the judges had ultimately chosen the wrong picture, since I'd bought the endorsements of "La La Land" as a pleasant entertainment that at least put its big budget to good use in bringing back a movie genre that,was in itself an accomplishment worth celebrating. By contrast, the line on "Moonlight" was: low budget film made in part to rectify the previous year's exclusive focus on an "all-white Hollywood" while assuring the left that the progressive values of a stereotypically "liberal" celebrity culture were still intact. Happily, both films rise above such early, superficial categorization. Despite undeniable flaws, "La La Land," is neither a stereotypical musical nor an excuse for two hours of escapist diversion. It pays respect to its noble forbears while reflecting the culture of a new generation. Throughout it manages to maintain a place between fantasy and realism, presenting a character who refuses to give up on jazz as a dying art. But to this writer, who is passionate about jazz and a fan of Astaire's '30s musicals, the film could have used either a few extended stretches of mainstream jazz or songs approaching the timeless standards sung by Astaire in "Top Hat" (Berlin) or Kelly in "American in Paris" (Gershwin). "Moonlight" is not without its own flaws. But it uses its minimal resources ($1.5 million, a pittance in movie-making terms) to maximum effect, thanks to an inventive screenplay, a cast of actors who look and play their roles with striking verisimilitude, and a tone-sensitive camera, that knows when to create meanings as a participant in the action and when to hold off and simply record unfolding meanings. Upon reflection, the film creates questions without answering them. Why is all the blame on Chiron's mother? Are there no extenuating circumstances to explain her failure as a mother? What happens to Chiron's surrogate father, Juan (a charismatic, memorable performance by Mahershala Ali in the first third of the film)? What explains Juan's attraction to Chiron ("Little") in the first place? And why does the grown Chiron ("Black") resemble Juan to a far greater degree than himself? (The first two Chirons have thin body frames and narrow, long-shaped heads, congenital physical traits that no amount of build-building could change.) Is there a resemblance between Juan and Chiron beyond their success as self-made men of integrity who use their restraint and magnetism to become successful magnates in the business of "trappin'" (i.e. kingpins in the crack trade). And do we really have any reason to expect Chiron's life to end less abruptly than Juan's? Still, the film has an emotional impact that erases the viewer's misgivings over details like the forgoing. Many musicals have caused me to well up, leaving me spellbound during the progress of a lyrical story and unable to speak at the end. "La La Land" left me with some of the same deeply satisfying "fullness" as "Singin' in the Rain," "An American in Paris," "Swing Time" and "City Lights." But "Moonlight" packs the harder punch, building to a climax in a scene which focuses on a "meal" being cooked with the most loving care by Chiron's old friend, Kevin, now working as a cook in a pedestrian diner where Chiron reunites with him. The moment transcends time and place in the painstaking care with which Kevin prepares a meal for his long-absent friend. His care is that of a mother preparing a royal feast on the occasion of her son's return from a bloody war. For this viewer, it resonated with the film "Babette's Feast" and with the New Testament miracles performed by Jesus at weddings, sermons and suppers--each a testimony to the role of "service" and to the presence of "grace" (unconditional love) in those who live "in" but not "of" the world. Perhaps there's hope for Chiron, after all. I don't see how anyone could withhold a star from this movie. I've seen the movie described as "the first LGBT movie," which strikes me as an injustice to the film and to the LGBT community. It's a universal film, capable of eliciting tears of self-recognition while giving the viewer no reason to feel guilt or the need for a retraction in the aftermath. The acting is too real and compelling; the direction is too savvy yet transparent.

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MOONLIGHT is a stunningly beautiful yet darkly harsh film that will haunt and inspire you. There is another side to Miami beyond the glamour, glitz and wealth we see on TV and in movies. There is a dark and tragic side to the city where poverty and drugs rule the day. Chiron aka "Little" is a quiet and scared young boy thrown into a violent world. Taunted at school and living with his drug-addicted mother, he finds hope in the friendship of Juan. Juan seems to have a compassionate heart as he lives in a fancy house with his girlfriend Teresa. Juan and Teresa are his salvation from his sad existence with one huge caveat. Juan just happens to be a drug dealer who just happens to be Teresa's connection. Here is the amazing truth to this story. Juan realizes how his "job" ruins lives. It's an incredible dichotomy to be Chiron's salvation and source of his torment. Three actors portray Chiron from boyhood to adulthood. The three actors may look different but all three have Chiron's haunting and tragic eyes. It is amazing. Chiron's eyes tell more of his story than the few words he speaks as he tries to understand the world around him. These three young actors will overwhelm the viewer with their heartbreakingly real portrayals of Chiron. Here is an amazing story of a boy trying to understand why he is "different". There is a deeply emotional beauty in Chiron's innocence and journey into understanding his sexuality. MOONLIGHT tells a deeply violent story without showing explicit violence. It is also a sexual journey that unravels in our minds more than on the screen. MOONLIGHT is a story of contrasts and unrepentant reality. MOONLIGHT is one of those wonderful and acclaimed films that few people have seen. It is raw and real and is not for everyone. Its unrelenting reality is addictive but may upset many. It is a beautiful film that should be seen and yes, love does exist even in the most tragic of circumstances.

Moonlight is an exceptional film because it is attractive to all viewers. You don’t need to understand each topic or issue presented. Writer-director Barry Jenkins once said that his ideal viewer is one that has no prior knowledge of the plot or the topics discussed. He believed that this type of viewer would leave the film with the mindset of desiring to “know more about this world.” I completely agree with his belief, and I too believe that the film helps viewers to think more in-depth about the film’s meaning and encourages them to learn more about the issues presented. When I viewed Moonlight for a second time, I noticed small messages and aspects I never saw before. I believe that a movie that can accomplish this feat is noteworthy and would persuade all potential viewers to make time to watch Jenkins’ work of art. Jenkins’ film Moonlight is a cinematic masterpiece which is unlike other films as it is organized into three distinct chapters, showcasing the childhood, adolescence, and adulthood of the main character. Aside from the nontraditional construction, Jenkins integrated many deep and inspiring messages to viewers. What intrigued me the most was the film’s position on the importance of role models. Moonlight not only presented various role models that affect the characters but illustrated the results of their impact on each character; this can be done because of the three sections of the film that span over a few decades. It also allows viewers to see that role models can shape the characters in both positive and negative means. Personally, this incited me to reflect on the role models in my life. Following the film, I had a stronger understanding that my actions, whether big or small, can influence someone. There are also numerous other inspirational aspects ranging from body language, silence, and forgiveness, but what makes Moonlight a spectacular movie is that in the end it is up to the reader to choose and determine for themselves what will inspire them.

Excellent cast, amazing how the actors that played the main character as he is growing up to be a man that they resemble so well to each other that I could see how this boy grew up over time. Great acting, great direction, pretty good story about the hardship of life in a dysfunctional and struggling at-risk family, but I did not like the ending. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and did not demonstrate a climatic end. They could have shown a bit more of how his relationship continues as it did not feel definitive. It did not feel like everything he built up over the years within him exploded out. There needed to be a sense of release/relief. Other than the ending, I thought the story was thought provoking as it makes you question where is the moral; who is really right or wrong; as if everyone is right and everyone is wrong depending on whose perspective you are looking at the situation from. None the less, it shows how our lives are often not controlled by us. It's controlled by our surroundings.

The nonverbal language in Moonlight is worthy of its 2017 Academy Award win for Best Picture. Main character Chiron grows up in a web of lies, from Juan’s fatherly actions despite supplying Chiron’s mother with drugs, to pointless reasons a high school classmate offers for bullying him, to his close friend Kevin’s betrayal after the two have an intimate encounter. Only Chiron consistently speaks the truth in (few) words (“Are you selling drugs?” to Juan, “Why did you call me?” to Kevin). Yet throughout the movie, each character speaks the truth in his/her eyes. The movie trains the viewer to watch the story in the eyes from the beginning, when Alex Hibbert as Child Chiron gazes at Juan without speaking, then finally decides to let Juan remove him from a dangerous encounter with bullies. Later there's Chiron’s mother’s crazed look while she is high, the bully’s look of superiority and contempt, and especially Chiron’s and Kevin’s final meeting—the most important events in this movie are seen, not heard. Trevante Rhodes is outstanding as the adult Chiron. Lacking an appropriate father figure, he shockingly become the image of Juan with his muscular physique and assertive behavior. Ashton Sanders superbly portrayed Chiron as a teen. Sanders’ furtive eyes, stooped posture and evasive behavior best show the “old” young man Chiron has become after years of abuse from his mother and peers. Mahershala Ali is a force as Juan, and deserved his Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Actresses Janelle Monae and Naomie Harris do a great job in roles that largely facilitate encounters (Harris by driving Chiron away) among the men. The mix-up in announcing Best Picture at the Oscar ceremony is telling. You’ll miss this beautiful film if you’re looking for the usual eye-catching, big name Hollywood product. After neglecting to give Brokeback Mountain the award it deserved in 2005, the Academy got it right this time.

This is a "film" (not a "flick", not a "movie", not a "blockbuster" and not a "show"). I say this to emphasize my opinion that a person needs to be engaged with a work of art in order to experience it, and not just receive it. Many a painting depict a landscape, but "Wheat Field with Cypresses", for example, offers something beyond its subject. People say that it is its color, or its composition, or the brush strokes that make it special (or all of the above), and whatever it is, being different for each individual perhaps, the painting has touched so very many people that it has become a cultural marker. "Moonlight" treads upon the ground that is not unfamiliar, even as it is anchored in the black gay male experience in the hoods of Miami and Atlanta. I found the dialog unremarkable or the plot insufficient to hold one's attention in its own right; in fact I think if I were to read the play "Moonlight" is based on, I would struggle to finish. Yet "Moonlight" is a uniquely memorable and lovely film. In my opinion the credit must go to the director, the actors, the cinematography and the sound. These together create a work of art that transcends its subject matter. The film gives space for its actors and striking visual compositions and color and sound and silence to create tension and to bring the viewer into the pauses within the dialogue and the plot, to make one feel the humanity of the characters and of the environment they populate, treading light on cliches and heavy on the understated ties that bind.

I was moved by this coming-of-age film (Oscars for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 2017) portraying the life of an African American boy named Chiron who grows up in project housing surrounded by drugs and teased by the other boys for evidently looking like a gay person. The movie is divided into three segments, one focused on him as a child, one as a teen, and one as a young man in his 20s, with different actors for the different ages. The drama unfolds super slowly and with relatively little dialogue and could be well presented on the theatrical stage. Other characters include his mother, a couple who serve as substitute parents for a time, and a relative few others. If you are not sure you are comfortable with LGBTQ themes, I would not be scared off by that. Yes, Chiron is figuring out he is gay, but it's not a movie about sex. And at bottom it's a story of learning to accept yourself and learning what to take from your surroundings and potential role models and what to leave behind. I found myself thinking about my relationship with my own parents and being grateful for the blessing of loving friends. Without so much dialogue or "action" in the movie, we are left with a lot of time to think about and be moved upon symbols in the film, perhaps especially the use of water and light. Water provides Chiron a place he can be comfortable and where he can regroup and be himself. The perfectly crafted ending left me crying somewhat and grateful I could go on the journey with this film. I feel the messages of the film will linger in my heart for a long time.

Filmaço em edição impecável, com discos 4K e Blu-ray. Ainda dei sorte de vir com luva!

Una cronica de la niñez , la adolescencia y la edad adulta de un joven afroamericano gay que crece en un barrio de Miami. Por otra parte la pelicula gano 3 premios Oscar en 2017 , incluyendo Mejor Pelicua y Actuacion de Reparto para Mahershala Ali .

Ich finde diesen Film sehr gut und gerade genug tiefsinnig, trotz seiner Zeitsprünge, seiner drei Episoden aus einem Leben. Allein das Filmplakat, das CD-Cover dazu und das DVD-Cover (alles das gleiche Cover: ein aus drei Abschnitt-Teilen zusammen gesetzter Kopf eines Afrikaners oder Afro-Amerikaners) zeigen was dem Regisseur vordergründig beschäftigt bzw. dass der Film dreigeteilt ist und der Regisseur daher detaillierte Lebensabschnitt-Finalis auslässt. Hier geht es nicht um alles und jedes detailliert aus einem Leben darzustellen für den Zuseher, damit dieser alles sehen und wissen und geklärt haben könne. Hier sind für den Regisseur generell nur einschneidende Lebens-Sequenzen eines: 1. Kindes, 2. eines Jugendlichen und 3. eines Mannes wichtig und diese selbst sind und werden hier so wichtig und so sensibel eingebracht, so dass es gerade genug sein soll für den Betrachter. Alles das was hier nicht gezeigt und nicht durch Handlungen weiter erklärt wird, wirft ein gewisses Vakuum, eine gewisse Orientierungslosigkeit auf. Und ich finde gerade diese Vakuums machen den Film "vollwertig" und ausreichend. Ein Vakuum ist meistens negativ behaftet: als Sinnlosigkeit des Lebens. Daraus können eine ständige Suche nach Anerkennung, Liebe, Geborgenheit, Familie..erwachsen. Wird diese Suche durch ständige Blockaden der Umstände nicht befriedigt, ist Sucht, ewige Suche nach Sinn und permanentes Scheitern das Ergebnis. Aber auch lebenslanges Suchen und Sucht in extremer Offenheit nach Liebe als einziger Zufluchtsort können den Rest des Lebens stigmatisieren, das von der Gesellschaft her meistens missgedeutet und daher missverstanden wird und zu Gerüchten führt. Aber auch zu Gewaltbereitschaft von beiden Seiten. Daher könnten/können diese Film-Vakuums mehr beschreiben als sie scheinen!? Es ist eine langsame dahin plätschernde Erzählung mit genügend Empathie und Emotionen. So genügt es einfach nicht, diesen Film nur einmal und oberflächlich zu studieren. Da ist mehr raus zu holen als man im ersten Moment sieht und glaubt, resp. als man bei nur einmaligen Anschauen ahnt. Ich für mich jedenfalls, finde bei neuerlichem Betrachten des ganzen Films immer etwas Neues heraus das mein analytisches Denker speist und erfreut. Heißt es nicht: "Weniger ist mehr." oder : "In der Kürze liegt die Würze."? Einziges Manko: Der Finale-Teil des Films ist langatmig angelegt (wie in einer vorigen Rezension bereits erwähnt). Wozu der Regisseur diesen Schlussteil detailliertest ausgekostet haben möchte, ist mir noch ein Rätsel. Vielleicht ist ihm der Schlussteil das Wichtigste am Film. Darauf könnte der letzte Musik-Titel zu diesem Film hindeuten, der da folgend bezeichnet wird: "The Culmination", zu deutsch: "Der Höhepunkt"; in der Fort- und Ausführung dieser Bedeutung zum Film auch als die "die Blüte, das Optimum, der Zenit einer Laufbahn, einer Entwicklung" anzusehen. So auch die Deutung dieser Musik-Titelbezeichnung einer Englisch-Deutsch-Übersetzung aus dem Netz. Ich erwerbe mir nur Filme welche sich mir nach und nach, nach mehrerem Ansehen, entfalten und sich damit langsam entschlüsseln und wo selbst danach noch Vieles im Dunkel bleibt. Filme die gleich beim ersten Ansehen alles verraten und alle Sinne ausreizen - wo können da noch neue Motivationen entstehen, diesen ein zweites Mal sich rein zu ziehen?(!) Hingegen wer analytisches Denken und psychologisches Einordnen mag, wer Oberflächlichkeiten meidet und nicht allein nur von der Vordergründigkeit eines Films begeistert ist, möge sich diesen Film kaufen. Er, der Film, wird überraschen und durch die vom Regisseur im Film extra eingefassten Lebensabschnitts-Sprünge, Geheimnisse eröffnen welche diese rechtfertigen. Fazit: Film geeignet nur für Empathie-Menschen und Denker. Übrigens wird auf dieser DVD so ziemlich alles zu diesem 3-fach Oskar-Prämierten Film zu Wort gebracht, erklärt, analysiert in mehreren Frage-Antwort-Gesprächen mit dem Regisseur, mit den Hauptdarstellern usw.! Daher sind diese (ungewöhnlich zahlreichen) Zusatz-Futures auf dieser DVD sehr aufschlussreich und würden die Wissbegierde eines jeden Interessenten bzw. Käufers vollends rundum befriedigen!

The story of this characters life looks bleak on the surface but a few important moments build towards a truly satisfying film.

DVD reçu rapidement, rien à redire, je suis vraiment satisfait de mon achat... Maison sérieuse à recommander...