★ 10 / 10
I'm gonna start this review by saying the
R T
I'm gonna start this review by saying the cat and the moon is my favorite movie of all time and you can read all the following text as a sobbing outburst. Be…
I'm gonna start this review by saying the cat and the moon is my favorite movie of all time and you can read all the following text as a sobbing outburst. Be aware that there might be spoilers. I watched this movie for the first time when I was really happy and I have also watched it another time when I was really sad. It doesn't matter when and how I'm watching, this movie always causes me so many different emotions as if I truly change as a person every time I see it. No matter how many times I see it and try to think about it and live every second of it even more, I still can't being to put in words how this makes me feel exactly. It's like crying my eyes out and also being chaotically euphoric - and I can say I relate to this a lot. This movie just makes me want to scream and I mean this in a good way. I don't think there's even enough words in any language to describe how much this movie is important to me. In every single way, I feel so attached to it.
First of all, is so good to see a movie about young people that is actually MADE by a young person. Nick is such a great and believable character and I instantly cared and root for him. it's scary how much I relate to Nick and how some situations, in a way, are things that most young people can relate, but it's also amazing to see so many genuine feelings being put on the screen. This character just feels extremely real and I can't help but connect to him. I got that weird feeling, which I don't get a lot watching movies, of wanting to go in that universe and just hug and protect him. This story just hits me really personally and I think that is one of the main reasons why I love this movie SO much. I feel so connected to nick and to this story in ways I don't think I will ever be able to ignore. This may seem dramatic but I don't think I have ever been this serious, specially while writing a review.
This movie makes me and my feelings just feel normal. It makes me feel so so valid in ways I can't even start to describe. It's like the warm blanket I can wrap myself on when I have a hard day and when things get rough. Don't think I ever saw a movie about teens that ever felt this raw and real and emotional and honest and again I can't find enough words. Just thinking about this movie and all the memorable scenes makes me want to cry and inspire me so much to keep living. Watching Nick makes me believe that there's hope for me even with all the bad things and for this I will forever be grateful. It's so nice having a movie that makes you feel this way.
I just feel like the movie is so real because I lived and I still live some stuff like that. It's really easy for a grown ass man to write a review for this movie or any other coming of age movie that is written by a young person, saying it's "unrealistic because teens are not like that", when they never try to understand young people. As a young person, I have seen so many portrayals of young people that made me roll my eyes on how unrealistic they are and this movie just felt like finally being able to breathe. All the characters seem extremely realistic, specially because I know people my age that act like many of them. And this was really refreshing. We should keep letting young people make movies about young people.
Alex's performance makes the main character even stronger. He is so great in this movie and I can't lie, this might be my favorite performance by him. And thinking about how he directed, produced and wrote this and how young he is, is so amazing and inspiring in so many levels that I can't even begin to describe. A while back I saw an interview of him for this movie where he said that if you want to direct and act, you have to know a lot about acting and, damn, I understood even more this phrase when I was actually watching the movie.
I love the humor in this movie as much as I love all the tension and also all the romantic scenes. The bed talk always hits me so so much. And the two scenes with the train tracks are also so good and bring so much tension, specially in the second one, where we know the meaning of all of that and we cut with seconds without an answer as if he actually jumped or not. I thought this was genius and it actually took my breath away for all the seconds were I didn't know if Nick was still alive. All the scenes have such a great build up, whether it is for tension or for laughs or whatever. I just really love how every single scene is build and I need to praise Alex for that. He is just such a great filmmaker and I can't wait until he just gets bigger and bigger and more people start to pay attention to his talent.
But also, all the moments this movie needs to be funny, It is. I loved all the dynamic with the friends and specially with Russell. At first, I was confused and kind of bothered with all the unnecessary slur use, but as soon as we got the pay off I couldn't help but love this trope. It's actually so concerning how many people in real life that I know that use slurs and think it's okay because they have friends that are part of the group hurt by this slur and they don't bother with them saying it. And in a way, everyone always lets them "pass" considering they don't "mean to hurt anyone when they are saying it". This is wrong and I loved the message of this part of the movie. When your friends always back you up or don't mind when you do problematic stuff, life teaches you that you no matter how "good intentioned" you are, people are not obligated to actually be understandable with you, because you are actually being an asshole. This character fit right in, considering he is super funny and I know so many people that get passes on being problematic because they are funny so they are "just kidding". Have to praise Alex for this. At first, as i said, I was so unsure on this, but when the pay off came, I understood everything.
I absolutely LOVED everything with Cal and Nick. They were such a great duo to see. This relationship is something really big for Nick in this movie and it's so great to see how every scene between them builds up and changes Nick as a character and how they talk to each other. In Nick and Cal's first encounter they are super awkward with each other and this is really understandable. I loved how their dynamic and their dialogues evolved until they have the fight and how the fight evolves to their last scene together. The dynamic between Mike and Alex is just really great in every single way. It's beautiful to see.
Gonna end this before I get more poetic and cheesy, but I love this movie and every single detail and second and frame on it and I am not ashamed to say it. I wish more people got the chance to see it and live this incredible experience. Please, if you haven't already and you have the chance, do a favor to yourself and watch this movie. Everything in this is just fantastic: Alex's amazing performance, the editing, the score, the interactions, the dialogue and I could keep going all day. This movie is so amazing and it just deserves every single drop of recognition in the world. I can't wait to see Alex's next project and I can't wait to just blindly support him because he is now one of my favorite filmmakers ever and it's undeniable that is so cool for someone that is so young as him. I am so proud of him and he gives me hope and fills me with joy just by existing and being so open with his art and his anxieties. As a young person that is constantly struggling with mental illness and self image, I felt seen, heard and, most importantly, normal while watching this. This movie inspires me and never fails to brings me to tears. It's so real, it's so raw and this is so great. It makes me happy to see how great of a movie this is and, again, how young Alex is. I believe the more young people that take risks, put themselves out there and just keep creating great stuff, the more chance and space we will have to young people in the film industry and this is fucking awesome. Nowadays, people just don't really care anymore about independent filmmakers, whether they are young or not, but specially if they are young. People only care about movies from big directors and well know people, when there is so many young people that haven't done much that are already SO great and deserve at least a chance to show themselves. Alex is so brave for actually putting himself out there, like I said, and I am so thankful that he did. This movie is an absolute masterpiece. Thank you, Alex, for this.
Read full review
78%
TOMATOMETER
· 9 reviews
87%
AUDIENCE
6.0/10
655
•••
That's a great movie!