Brilliant, just brilliant! I followed a friend’s advice and saw this movie and now I can’t help feeling that I owe him a lot. Because if I was to follow the commercials, the movie reviews from other magazines and in general the trend, the scent of popularity, then Moon would have been that fish small enough to fit through the holes of the net. What a huge loss that would have been…

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is an astronaut working for the Lunar Corporation. Supported by a robot named GERTY (voice: Kevin Spacey) he is the one-man-crew of a facility that tends to four automated machines that mine for Helium 3 on the far side of the moon. Only two weeks separate him from the end of his three years contract and from returning back to Earth to rejoin his wife and little daughter. But something goes wrong, terribly wrong. And I wish I could tell you more, but it would only mean spoiling the movie for you and I can guarantee that you will thank me for not doing it.

The movie explores the whole range of human emotions that loneliness gives birth to and sets concepts as humanity and human nature under the magnifying glass in a way only a handful of movies has managed to do so far. The acting weight placed on Sam Rockwell’s shoulders is enormous since he is actually the only actor on set, but he carries it in an admirable fashion and I doubt anyone could have asked for more, especially given the “tools” he had at his disposal. The voice of GERTY, although lacking any form of emotion, comes to fill the dialog gaps in such a natural and surprising way that ends up enhancing the movie’s emotional luggage more than any other human character could have.

Although a Sci-Fi, the movie lacks the abundance of CGI we got used to when it comes to this genre, but still you don’t feel like there is something missing. As a matter of fact you don’t feel like there is anything missing and that’s even more impressive as it is clear to everyone that the movie screams low budget at every corner. It comes as proof, not that it was actually necessary, that art can find ways of expressing itself without the help of multimillion dollar budgets. It comes as proof that if you have the strength and the patience to dig deep enough in the mud of mediocrity you will eventually find that gem of amazing beauty that will enrich both your soul and your mind.

Moon is just that: a unique, extraordinary event that you must add to the inventory of your experience if you wish to feel… complete.