A Trip to the Moon
The experience of watching a film is very new to me. The
fact that all this cinematic magic is imprinted on a strip of film is equal
parts peculiar and impressive. This is an amazing feat, indeed. I’ve been
hearing great reviews of this film from my friends and I hope that it levels up
to my high expectations. I’ve always been a fan of Georges Méliès.
In fact, the very first film I’ve watched was his 1899 masterpiece “Robbing
Cleopatra’s Tomb”. I have not forgotten that short amount of time I was hooked
on screen. I’m ecstatic that I will be experiencing this rare treat of watching
a film again.
“A Trip to
the Moon” is such an alluring title. The moon is a familiar feature of the
night sky. Every single night, it shines light upon Earth. Planning a voyage to
the moon seems to me, beyond the bounds of possibility and this is one of the
reasons why I want to watch this film.
The film starts out with a meeting
among elderly men. They sport long white beards. They get into chaos while
laying out their plans. The scene transitions to the site of construction of a
huge space capsule. When it is finished, the astronomers are launched into
space from a cannon with the help of women in sailor outfits. The moon is
portrayed as a face with human features. The space capsule hits his right eye.
The scene after that shows the landing of the capsule again but this time, it
lands on the flat terrain of the moon. I wonder why the same scene is depicted
in different ways. As the astronomers sleep, different heavenly bodies appear.
When they wake up, they explore the moon and get attacked by aliens inhabiting
the moon. Failing to fight all of them, they are kept captive and sent to the
aliens’ leader. They succeed in their attempt to escape and go back to Earth.
The last scene celebrates the astronomers’ return.
The plot line was enough to keep me
off the edge of my seat. I felt as if I was on the adventure myself. The props
were very creative. It is amazing how people these days can be so inventive
when it comes to depicting the Earth and outer space. I can just imagine the
amount of time they put into constructing these sets. The costumes used were
just as artistic. The actors did an excellent job at portraying astronomers. I
felt their panic and excitement upon reaching the moon. To top it all off, the
musical score was enchanting. It contributed to the whole feel of the movie. It
brought the whole film together.
I must say, that was the most
amusing 17 minutes of my life. I no longer see the moon as merely a source of
light at night. When I look up the sky at night, my mind will linger on the
creatures and plants that tread upon the moon’s face. I can’t wait until humans
actually launch a successful trip to the moon in real life. Sadly, it seems
impossible. As of now, this will still remain a fantasy.
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