A Trip to the Moon (1902)

The visuals in Trip to the Moon, produced in 1902, are still impressive, surreal, and unique, even by modern standards. Méliès' use of special effects, executed with hyper-stylization, makes them somewhat timeless. Méliès was undoubtedly regarded as a wizard at the time, and the film's creativity is admirable. However, after 120 years, it's difficult to stay actively engaged in the story. The experience is more about passively admiring the visuals than being actively involved in the narrative. Nevertheless, Trip to the Moon is still more engaging than many contemporary films, despite over a century of technological innovation. The film's accompanying score was also noteworthy, as it was modern and perfectly matched the movie's atmosphere, demonstrating how far ahead of its time Trip to the Moon was.

I just knew this was gonna have a high score on letterboxd. Yo, it's important, it's visionary, it's observable history, it's revolutionary for it's time, all that jazz. But guess what else? I don't for a minute believe those people actually went to the moon.
Should still be required viewing for film classes though.
_Final rating:★★½ - Not quite for me, but I definitely get the appeal._