Moonlight

Moonlight (2016) is a powerful film on several levels and it is nice to see that it go the recognition it deserves at the Oscars. Barry Jenkin's second feature is based on a play about a boy who grows up black, poor, and gay-but it is also about many other things in life. It is just as much about survival, resilience, being true to oneself, and being able to open oneself up to others. It is worth pointing out that Mahersala Ali's brief role as the father surrogate-drug dealer won an Oscar for his moving portrait of a man divided. The film is divided into three acts (much like a play) that describe the boy's life at three stages: 1. "Little" 2. "Chiron" 3. "Black"-each role is played by a different actor. I was also looking forward to seeing how Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton paid homage to Wong Kar Wai (a personal favorite director as well), which was pointed out in a video online, however, I saw many other instances that were left out of the online video. They liked using the blurred hand held camera for action that can be seen in films like Chungking Express. I wonder if I had not been tipped off by this whether or not I would have noticed the effect. At any rate, it was a film worthy of the praise that it has received over the year. I wonder if it will become a breakaway success despite it's nontraditional subject matter-time will tell.