http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/moonlight-trailer-barry-jenkins-trevante-rhodes-a24-1201715487/

Insanely positive reviews from Telluride. The trailer is outstanding-- one of my most anticipated of the year by far.

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~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

Easily one of the best films I've seen all year.

There's a lot I wanna talk but it comes at the end of the month and I'll wait till everyone see this.

Two things tho:

Barry Jenkins said the score is chopped and screwed. It's done so you don't notice it, but it still has a hip-hop vibe and can fit in with the atmosphere of the movie.

Barry Jenkins' visual style is off the hook. More later.

------------------------------------------
America from 9:00 on: https://youtu.be/GUwLCQU10KQ

Didn't know or notice that about the score, good reason for a second viewing

It took me a moment to think through the imagery in the final scene and pick up on some of its potential meaning, I didn't want it to end at the time so it felt 'sudden'.

---------------------
Obviously White

When I looked at the credits and there wasn't another artist mentioned I figured they screwed it up. It was dope.

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------------------------------------------
America from 9:00 on: https://youtu.be/GUwLCQU10KQ

--------

I noticed the chopped and screwed score. It fit really well. Will say more when it is fully released. I saw it at the New Orleans Film Festival.

*America's Favorite*

i'm seeing it tonight!


http://shadowandact.com/2016/10/21/director-barry-jenkins-playwright-tarell-alvin-mccraney-the-men-of-moonlight-talk-redefining-black-male-identity-in-film-narratives/


~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

it had a lightness to it that I really appreciated...even the heavy parts weren't really heavy. like Jenkins took this profound thing and held it up to the moonlight...

spoilers past here....










-that scene at the table when Little asked about the word faggot...the tenderness with which Juan answered him, then the subsequent question about Juan...the way Mahershala hung his head was probably one of the saddest things i've ever seen...that man is a phenomenal actor...the whole scene and the way it ended was perfect

-i'm glad they did not show what happened to Juan...there was just nothing gratuitous at all about the visuals in the film...we didn't see what we didn't need to see. I love that restraint, as a filmmaker. alot of folks feel like they have to show EVERYTHING.

-the music!!! they gave us hip hop without giving us hip hop...it was brilliant

-why Trevante Rhodes look like Fitty Cent tho? LOL that was a bit distracting at times


so many more observations...

>-that scene at the table when Little asked about the word
>faggot...the tenderness with which Juan answered him, then the
>subsequent question about Juan...the way Mahershala hung his
>head was probably one of the saddest things i've ever
>seen...that man is a phenomenal actor...the whole scene and
>the way it ended was perfect

Amazing scene. Heartbreaking. Agreed on Mahershala. For me this was the most powerful scene in the film.


>-why Trevante Rhodes look like Fitty Cent tho? LOL that was a
>bit distracting at times

Yeah this is honestly the only weakness in the film, IMO. I knew it was theoretically *possible* that Chiron would end up looking like that, but it seemed so unlikely that I found it pretty distracting for the rest of the film.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Need to see this.

It was so good
Lena Waithe was at my screening and had the first question
She and Barry know each other lol

And @NicholasBritell was there as well and talked about doing the score
He chopped and screwed classic music y'all

Just found out I missed seeing Danaii Gurira who was also at my screening

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

The acting, the cinematography, the pacing, the arc of the story... all so good

Hotep's are furious ppl love this movie

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2016/10/24/box-office-moonlight-joins-an-exclusive-club-alongside-disney-toons-and-movie-stars/#34dcfe235ceb


Scott Mendelson , CONTRIBUTOR
I cover the film industry.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
'Moonlight' image courtesy of A24
‘Moonlight’ image courtesy of A24

One of the big stories at the box office this weekend was the eye-popping debut of Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight. The justifiably acclaimed drama, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, traces one young black man’s life as he grows up in Miami and comes to terms with his homosexuality. The picture scored (as of this writing) a whopping $414,740 opening weekend in four theaters, giving the A24 release a $103,675 per-location-average.

That number may go a little up or down when the final figures drop later today, but it’s assuredly the biggest per-theater-average of 2016, besting the $92,835 p.s.a. of Mike Birbiglia’s (also terrific) improv group dramedy Don’t Think Twice in its single-theater debut this past July.

It is the 26th film ever to snag per-location-average of over $100,000. Now inflation plays a role in that, as (for example) Aladdin debuted on two screens in 1992 and earned $98k per screen, a number which would be around $204k p.s.a. in 2016 dollars (thanks, as always, to Box Office Mojo for letting me play in their sandbox). But for the moment, let’s ignore inflation. They didn’t have DVDs, Netflix, streaming, or other Internet-related distractions in the 1990′s, now did they? Let’s take a look at the various films that have pulled off this would-be milestone.

First of all, when the time comes to make comparisons, we’re tossing out Kevin Smith’s Red State. Sorry, Mr. Smith, but your $204,230 gross on a single screen in 2010 was part of a traveling road show type exhibition that was a prelude to the film’s Video On Demand release. It’s a neat idea, but it screws up the comparisons, as it’s not really a “wide” theatrical release, so out it along with its mere $1.1 million theatrical gross.

That gives us 25 movies to work with. What sticks out offhand is how unique Moonlight is in terms of the other movies that have hit this mark. To wit, eight of the top 10 biggest per-screen-averages (and the top seven in a row) are all sneak preview releases of Walt Disney animated films. 12 of the top 30 p.s.a.s are animated films, with only 20th Century Fox’s Anastasia ($120.5k in one theater in 1997) not coming from the Mouse House.

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

This movie was beautiful and heavy and brilliant and intense. And the performances were note perfect. I loved it more than I can articulate. There aren't enough stars to give it, frankly.

I want to actually support it with dollars (I went to a screening) so after I've hugged my doggies enough, I'm going to stock up on my Kleenex and go see it in the theater this weekend.

But it's doing so well. It's kinda awesome


Also had an intense watching weekend starting w this then black mirror ending w the walking dead
Jebus
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

>I want to actually support it with dollars (I went to a
>screening) so after I've hugged my doggies enough, I'm going
>to stock up on my Kleenex and go see it in the theater this
>weekend.

Right. I had a difficult day before watching this movie and when the story paused during a scene change, I would think, "Man, a bath sounds good now." LOL

<--- Me when my head hits the pillow

I'm still crying the morning after.

I'm glad it's as technically impressive as ppl say - but I was so lost in the story that I didn't appreciate all of that as I watched. I want to see it again now.

fuck you.

You know the movie is good when you like it but are having to invent ways to bring up ways to describe and illustrate what was just watched.

I can't say enough positive things about this movie. The acting, the cinematography and camera work, the sound design, the design of the characters were amazing.

The director did a good job of immersing the audience in an environment which is blighted and distinct but gave it a sense of normalcy. I don't know much about Liberty City and Miami except from movies, but while the drug trade and the social dynamic were shown as being destructive, it was shown as a backdrop for the story rather as as a factor in the emotional turmoil of Chiron.

Also, the way the story dealt with the sexuality of Chiron was endearing and remarkable. It wasn't sensationalized or thought of as abnormal. The constraints the outside world were shown to be outrageous and heartbreaking, but not the reality of Chiron's sexuality.

The ending was really well done and no matter the interpretation you have of the ending, it is heartwarming.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to see this again.

<--- Me when my head hits the pillow

I cried multiple times. The scoring. The cinemetography. The tense silences my gawd. I didn't want the movie to end. It was a pleasantly unpredictable film. Bravo man.

>

gyeah

Juan and grown Kevin cute too but damn grown Chiron is gorgeous

I didn't like it. Too intense for no reason at all. Storylines that weren't believable. The actors were absolutely great, but the story, characters, and cinematography fucked it up for me. That third scene was so terrible. This dude?, Chyrone?! Little!?! This mute punching bag turned into 50 Cent, is trapping? In 10 years he hadn't acted out on his sexual desires, in Atlanta of all places. & if it was because Kevin, why not track him down. Facebook, it works.

This movie needed more Theresa, more Juan, and some more Theresa. Saw it with my wife and we made a game of pointing out the countless things that didn't make sense in the movie. Andre Holland, who played adult Kevin, was really good.

Kev

Don't tell me it's not real. I did it.

fuck you.

Nothing outside of adult Chiron's physical appearance indicates he is any less vulnerable or more comfortable with himself than he was as a child.

And how many people REALLY go after the one that got away? Let alone a gay, black male, still unsure of himself and who he is and what it means to be free?

I can't wait to see the movie again.

succumbing to pressure

I wouldn't have contacted him either.


~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

stylized but, it feels very familiar. also, not sure why you think more
theresa was needed, she's cute and all but, the movie wasn't about her.

I think she provided balance and it seems that he would've gravitated more towards that. as the audience we are only left to our imagination from where the script decides not to go, but I felt more balance was needed from her to help Chyrone maintain his humanity from what the script allowed us to see from his everyday environment. Mom struggled to keep her soul from the crack, Kevin wasn't secure in himself just yet, and Theresa seemed like the only anchor he had.

beautiful movie, though. just not a fan of the script and the tension. Although I can concede that the tension, maybe represented Chyrone's daily life. Still have issues with how his character developed in that 3rd scene, however wonderfully acted it was.

oh yeah, would it be too much to have at least one humorous moment in the film? just one?

Kev

>as the audience we are only left
>to our imagination from where the script decides not to go

I didn't need relationships spelled out in letter and verse any more than they were. Too many scripts try to fill in unnecessary gaps.

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there could have been another way to let us know that the inevitable happened to Juan. I can see where y'all are coming from, but I don't agree. different tastes, ya know.

We know Juan was dead before the scene with Teresa in the second chapter of the movie, if I'm not mistaken. The kids taunt him about it as he's on his way home.

Teresa's scene is there to show us how he continues to learn lessons despite his mom's spiraling addiction. She's still a part of his life, she still is that anchor, even after Juan's death-- I think that info is important to have, and it's better to see it rather than be told it.

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other movies of this type usually have some savior come along to show the troubled protagonist the way. often this character is white - especially if the protagonist is not white.

i'm glad that character isn't the focus in this movie. it's about Chiron it's not about someone coming along and saving him from his harsh reality.

btw - the movie is based on an semi-autobiographical play (http://www.thefader.com/2016/10/26/tarell-alvin-mccraney-playwright-moonlight) so i dunno if there's a real Teresa or what. but i had one in my real life. my shelter in a storm. my rock. she is my auntie. i love her like my own mother. i didn't need the movie to spoon feed that story to me - i know that story. my homie who saw the movie w/me - his refuge was his grandmother. he's black and gay too, btw. my other homie who is also black and gay - his refuge was his grandmother. i won't go on except to say that i appreciated that the movie didn't bang me over the head w/that stuff. i didn't need it. i got just enough.

fuck you.

and that you were willing to share. i can only imagine how it feels to have a movie with story lines or characters that can somewhat mirror your story.

kev

That movie was just TOO real. I almost don't want the world to see it. I don't want to have to defend it. I don't want ppl to say the wrong things. I don't want it caught up in the Oscar race. I want it to be left alone. I want it to be Ours.

I have not ever seen a movie tap into the Loneliness of the black gay boy's existence like that one. I saw it yesterday and I'm STILL sobbing.

fuck you.

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

The movie is at its best when Jenkins simply watches, in long takes and scenes. Some of those (especially the scenes with Chiron and Kevin) are among the best scenes I've seen this year. The actors are outstanding here-- guys like Ali, Holland, and Rhodes all deserve award consideration (and the young Ashton Sanders, also terrific).

It also deserves a lot of subject matter credit, not just for its main subject which goes so rarely depicted on screen in a serious fashion, but keeping the drug stuff in the background. I think a lesser movie tries to make an explicit commentary about it, diving deeper into that world, whereas here, the story remains tethered to Chiron and his isolation.

Don't be surprised when we see a lot of awards consideration here.

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Amazing how seamlessly they wove the character together.

and agreed

Barry said he was looking for something in their eyes

for me it was the kevins smiles i mean to ask barry
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

my heart exploded right then.

then the final shots happened and i just couldn't hold the tears in.

i'm still haunted by that.

and this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bjt-M_QLdI

fuck you.

All of the silence, the tentativeness. A lesser movie goes straight to that moment. This movie is smart enough to know just how difficult those words would be to say and really lets the sequence build for 10, 15 minutes. The movie's pacing worked wonders.

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fuck you.

The loneliness (and the beauty) of the bathtub scene COMPLETELY and TOTALLY did me in. It was all downhill from there.

and then the look on Juan's face.

i was like....DAMN.

that poor kid.

fuck you.

Oh man. So many beautiful, but haunting moments...

how they shot it

had they subverted what we think we know of that convo in that era

how Little just walked out the way he did

how Teresa held Juan's hand at the table

I'm so glad this movie was made. My life is better because this movie exists.

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

I am made better because of this movie. Saw it for the second time last night. Had an almost 3 hour convo on it afterwards. Such a powerful film.

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fucn shit

Jenkins captured surveillance, being Black, and constantly aware of your surroundings in that shot. Mahershala's facial expressions, the way he held his body. the way the camera circles him and the corner boy...

it was so disorienting, while locking you into the world so precisely.

I remember watching it thinking "Damn he's nailing THE WALK".

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doing that when i was watching it. I just noticed the choice and i liked it


But you described it perfectly.

--
the untold want by life and land ne'er granted
now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find

Jenkins uses it again to similar effect when Chiron is in high school, and when he meets grown Kevin in the diner.

--------

Had a dream about it when I slept that night. I felt so many emotions watching this film and some of it was discomfort. Seeing his mom to through those worlds man. That was hard to watch. I was legit sad when he got older and things were different. They made the shift in his life feel real every time we moved forward. I was also hype when 50 showed up and tried to steal the show. Well done.

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to ruin it.

____________________________________________________


Steph: I was just fooling about

Kyrie: I wasn't.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8OWNspU_yE

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

That's what i'm feeling most after just walking out

--
the untold want by life and land ne'er granted
now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find

Gah

--
the untold want by life and land ne'er granted
now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find

________________________________________________
R.I.P. Soulgyal <3
SUPA NERD LLC.
Knowledge Meets Nature
Musica Negra
#13irteen

i felt so bad for him when she said what 'a real man' would've done and he broke down.

she was missing the point and didn't even know.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------

- when Juan takes Little home the second time, Aretha Franklin's "One Step Ahead" is playing in their apartment. That song comes back in...the diner I think?

- Black's license plate actually says "Black" on it

- I couldn't make out what Paula screamed at Little the first time I saw the film but if I'm not mistaken she says "you're not a man!" I could be wrong

Still completely in love with this film.

>
>
>- Black's license plate actually says "Black" on it
>


it was just another detail to show you just how much of Kevin he still carried with him. he took that nickname and draped himself in it

--
the untold want by life and land ne'er granted
now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find

>- Black's license plate actually says "Black" on it

BLACK305. (305 for Miami) Which was a dope touch.


>- I couldn't make out what Paula screamed at Little the first
>time I saw the film but if I'm not mistaken she says "you're
>not a man!" I could be wrong

I missed that part myself. I thought it was dope that when you first see that, you don't hear what she says.

50 did a real good job with this role.

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50
--------
<--------- my cousin
www.richardlouissaint.com
photobloggin' it:
http://blog.richardlouissaint.com

And combined into 1 person.

> I couldn't make out what Paula screamed at Little the first
>time I saw the film but if I'm not mistaken she says "you're
>not a man!" I could be wrong

Pretty sure she said "You're a faggot!"

Which is why Chiron immediately then goes and asks Juan what a faggot is.

This was right after she melted down about him being gay ("are *you* going to tell him why he gets his ass beat everyday?!" or something along those lines).

----

**This has been another positive bignick post.**

There are a lot of things to be said about it, most of them covered here.

I loved that they avoided most, if not all kinds of tropes and "usual" routes of storytelling, and at the same time, so much of the film and the characters were open-ended. Chiron is the most you know about, and even then...

I loved that the world that these characters inhabited was entirely Black. I think the most a white character did was off-screen, ringing a service bell. Or eating some food at the diner. No lines, though.

I loved the acting. Alex Hibbert (who played Young Chiron) said a LOT with his eyes alone. Trevante Rhodes did a lot to "tie" the current Chiron to his younger self. Again, with his facial expressions. Ashton Sanders perfectly captures the perils of troubled teenaged life. Naomie Harris took you on a journey. Janelle Monae (who I enjoyed watching in the 2nd act) was even good. Gonna have to see what she does in Hidden Figures now. And "Cottonmouth" Ali killed it. In so many different ways.

That actor who played Terrel nailed the (Black) high school asshole role well.

I loved the direction. Jenkins did a good job of building tension and unease, tenderness and respect, and even anger when you needed it. The times where the audio was faded out or removed (like when Chiron's mother shouts on him)... that was a nice touch.

I think one of my favorite parts of this film was watching Chiron with Juan, when he asked him what the word "faggot" meant. There was such an innocence to Chiron then...you take for granted in film. Especially when other kids around him are out there cussing (and doing all other sorts of WTF things), and he doesn't even really talk all that much.

Juan's answer was the kind of answer you would get from a father. And considering the role/influence Juan had in dude's life... it makes sense. It's one of those things that reflects why I quit that word for the most part. I remember starting to read about this part in one of the reviews, then I had to quit; didn't want to be spoiled.

And there are moments like that throughout the film.

It's a very human portrayal of very complex people. About Black spaces. About queer sexual spaces. About how those places intersect; about how the trappings of Black life in America (especially for Black men in particular) affect queer and other marginalized people in the Black space. About the defining of one's self whilst being in a series of "traps". About intimacy, not necessarily sexual, and how men deny themselves. You don't really see that in film. All the while, avoiding the kind of traps that I've come to expect when the words "gay" are hovering around a film. I'll go on the record that I'm glad this movie ended the way it did, that certain scenes went the way they did, and didn't go "Lee Daniels" on us when the door was left open for such things.


Go see it, if you have the opportunity.

Just go see it.

Yes, I'm mad. Let's move on.

Jays | Cavs | Eagles | Sabres | Tarheels

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without being explicit about any of those things

childhood neglect
poverty
the drug war
the spaces that black men occupy
sexuality
self definition

really great film

>childhood neglect
>poverty
>the drug war
>the spaces that black men occupy

and you nailed it... in how not-explicit it was.

like, it's a movie that has you asking questions.

like, "why the hell was Chiron doing this?"

the looks on people's faces in the film say a lot. When Juan finds out who he's been sellin' rocks to and he's conflicted.

and how "normalized" trappin' is. Black had a "regular" home. but you know that one or two things could go south and he'd be back in the system again.

poverty loomed over this story as well, esp. in the 1st 2 acts.

.

One of the most powerful ive seen since Beasts of No Nation, but a very different tone.

My wife was sobvbing for awhile afterwards.

i dont care about best actor. Lots of strong performances but this should be up for Best Film best Director.

On a surface level it explores black masculinity but it also speaks to the shit all of us go through to "fit in" to society and our perceived roles, and how we sometimes have to hide our inner selves or re-invent ourselves. That line towards the end where Kev just talks about being/finding himself....thats life...

It was funny to see/hear some people in the theater who didnt expect the plotline at all lol..

im bumping the sdoundtrack on spotify on repeat now

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought

Listening to the audience to get their reactions to certain scenes was very interesting. Hell for me I was audibly uncomfortable during certain scenes and laughed to remove myself from being fully present.

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PSN: ThirteenRose

>Listening to the audience to get their reactions to certain
>scenes was very interesting. Hell for me I was audibly
>uncomfortable during certain scenes and laughed to remove
>myself from being fully present.

---
"though time has passed, im still the future" (c) black thought