The most crucial dramatic trait for films about exploration is a drawing a strong reaction to the unknown from the audience. Whether it’s a historical story or a fantastical one of fiction, the film has to evoke awe, be that stirring swells of inspiration or jarring feelings of danger. It has to move you, not bore you. If a film can’t achieve that quickened pulse or heavy heart, it’s little better than a travelogue on cable television or a curriculum video they show soon-to-be-bored high school students in Social Studies class.
Read MoreI dare you to look into the painful eyes of the three ages of Chiron and their matching performers and not have your soul triple in weight. The arc in "Moonlight" from the innocence of the little boy to the uncomfortable vulnerability hiding underneath the muscles and gold fronts of the hardened resulting adult is arduously moving on multiple levels. Observing his difficulties forces you to absorb the conflict and inescapable trepidation that surrounds the shared character. Pressing his heart to your own makes for one of the most moving and rewarding film experiences this year.
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