"'Running around, catching a lot of light'. 'In moonlight, black boys look blue'. 'You're blue'. 'That's what I'm gonna call you: Blue'."

Almost 24 hours has passed since I watched MOONLIGHT for the first time and in my head, the ending keeps looping longingly like a broken record.

It was last night, the viewing; my expectation was quiye high, considering how Wong Kar-wai has influenced this film and I am always down for some melancholy. Thank the Lord, it didn't disappoint, as it still lingers in my mouth, the taste of pure love of storytelling and proud blackness.

To be able to craft emotions and longing visually is not easy at all, sometimes there will be stumbling that can lead to scenes of tired exaggeration. But Barry Jenkins defied that obstacle and made a film that touches your core and leaves an imprint in your heart.

The cast also helps a lot into making this picture to be as lovely and as poignant. Personally, I'd like to give my highest personal praise to Trevonte Rhodes and Andre Holland who play the roles of Black and adult Kevin. They really speak of easiness mixed with this resistance from the urge of wanting each other--truly fantastic and breathtaking works from them. I still remember vividly this chapter because it instantly reminds me of another great film, CAROL, which is also actually a coming-of-age film.

What a feast to the eyes and the soul, MOONLIGHT is. The depiction of finding yourself and being trapped in this bubble of masculinity really hits me because this story is indeed, important: a specifically strange story that somehow feels familiar to a lot of people, that needs to be brought universally. Thank the Lord, again, to Barry Jenkins and everyone involved for making this tale as something really magical and beautiful.