First Man

It's probably going to get snubbed at the Oscars, given the audience ignorance and the politics the Academy has set in recent years, but for me, this is the Movie Of The Year. A technically extremely precise piece of work and at the same time an emotional ride that gives you goosebumps in the last act. In fact, I can't remember the last time a film with a scientific basis has grounded me like this. Perhaps Zemeckis's Contact, twenty long years ago. Gosling as a man who has to suppress his emotions and think coldly and rationally, otherwise he couldn't do his job, is totally accurate as an actor. At the other pole, Claire Foy is a geyser of emotion, and Hurwitz's music is energetic and intimate at the same time. This is going to be the pride of my blu-ray collection. PS: Unfortunately, there are mental gimps among us, such as the "greatest horror expert" Psychor, who vulgarly disparage human agency bought with sweat and blood. I don't know, couldn't these individuals just die so they don't poison our air? (12/15/2018)

A realistic biographical drama with emphasis on what must be sacrificed in the interest of science. In terms of style, it’s a cross between Interstellar and The Tree of Life. Gosling’s is excellent as Armstrong, an intelligent guy who can look after himself, although with dulled feelings after of all the death (his farewell with his kids using sentences intended for a press conference is a good example). During the ending, Chazelle does not stoop to giving us a climax with great pathos, where the hero and his friends achieve the goal, simply because most of his companions have been killed. The shots from the Moon are duly impressive and the effect is exquisite. Primarily, they aren’t spoiled by any flag planting. Beautiful music. Excellent. I see the Moon, the Moon sees me... (10/17/2018)

I haven't seen Whiplash, I didn't enjoy the cheesy La La Land, but I'm unreservedly excited about First Man. Captivating aerial scenes of all kinds (you feel like you are sitting there with him/them) interspersed with no less dramatic scenes from that “ordinary family life," Ryan Gosling once again acts well and I believed his character. At the same time, the script is not a classic biographical affair which, when watching it, the viewer just in spirit ticks off items and gets to the limit of kitsch only in the end (the bracelet), but it balances it, doesn't fall, and doesn’t hurt itself. I also enjoy being able to praise the music once again. Justin Hurwitz is playing the theremin, accompanying the scene with Gemini with a waltz and peaking as dramatically as if Hans Zimmer had collaborated with Philip Glass. I'm very much looking forward to the soundtrack. (10/11/2018)

First Man is an enthralling evocation of the time when spaceflight was not a matter of course and undertaken at the whim of millionaires, but rather an uncertain enterprise that required sacrifice and tremendous determination. At the same time, it is a perfect example of how to build an absorbing and thrilling narrative from a story whose end everyone already knows. (01/14/2019)

What a surprise by Chazelle! Distinctive, cool, gritty, exquisite. An incredibly plausible reconstruction of one of the key events (not only) of the 1960s, where, apart from the journey to the moon itself, there is also a brilliant depiction of the society and family values of that time. Without pathos, without heroism, and with the depressing clacks and creaks of space rocket interiors. (10/21/2018)