A Trip to the Moon

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Henrique X If La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière was cinema’s first step, Le Voyage dans la Lune was its first leap — not just to the Moon, but into fantasy, into science fiction, into the very idea that cinema could be an entirely invented universe. Released in 1902, this film by Georges Méliès is more than a pioneer: it’s a miracle of imagination, invention, and absolute faith in the power of visual spectacle. It marks the precise moment when cinema stopped simply “looking at the world” and began to create worlds out of nothing. Loosely inspired by the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, Le Voyage dans la Lune follows a group of astronomers who launch themselves to the Moon in a giant bullet-shaped capsule. Once there, they encounter alien creatures, are captured, escape, and return to Earth as heroes. Everything is exaggerated, theatrical, and impossible. And yet, it all works — not because it mimics reality, but because it obeys the logic of imagination established by its own fantastical universe. That’s exactly what makes the film so powerful: it doesn’t try to look realistic — it tries to look fabulous. The Moon’s landscape, built from cardboard, smoke, and fireworks, became one of the most iconic images in film history: that lunar face with a rocket lodged in its eye says everything about the ambition, boldness, and humor of a newborn art. Visual absurdity becomes beauty. Artifice becomes magic. Méliès — a magician before he was a filmmaker — mastered cinematic tricks like few others: disappearances, explosions, superimpositions, scene transformations. All done by hand, with in-camera edits and multiple exposures. Every frame is a showcase, every scene a stage performance. But unlike theater, Méliès’ cinema needed no physical limits. He could turn smoke into moon dust, a painted backdrop into an entire cosmos, a studio into a dream. Here we witness the birth of the cinema of imagination — the notion of space that shifts with a cut, the scene that becomes a moving spectacle. And though there’s no spoken narration, the story is crystal clear. Méliès masters the rhythm of visual progression: each moment follows the next with internal logic, evolving through settings, gestures, and enchantment that require no words. It’s universal cinema — understood by any audience, anywhere in the world. Like every great fable, it speaks through images. And those images endure: the cannon, the Moon, the Selenites, the triumphant return. There’s even a subtle commentary on the scientific arrogance of modernity: the wise men who travel to the Moon behave like colonial conquerors — attacking the unknown and returning home to celebration. From the very start, science fiction contains this duality: awe toward the unknown and the desire to dominate it. Méliès doesn’t moralize, but he does ironize. He knows that progress without poetry is nothing but noise. Watching Le Voyage dans la Lune today feels like opening a magical chest. Yes, its effects are primitive — but they carry an artisanal strength and inventiveness that defy modern industrial polish. It’s a cinema of paper and ink, of smoke and shadow — and for that very reason, infinitely more alive than any contemporary digital simulation. It pulses because it was crafted by hand, with wide eyes and an open heart. Le Voyage dans la Lune is not just the first science fiction film. It’s a declaration that cinema can be a theater of wonders, a cosmic circus, a moving painting that doesn’t merely reflect the world, but reinvents it on its own terms. It is a manifesto of the impossible — and even today, it’s impossible not to be enchanted. Original review in portuguese: https://henriquexaxa.substack.com/p/critica-cinematografica-le-voyage Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/04/25 Full Review Jeremiah D. AHH SPOOKY MAN FACE ON MOON!!! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/23/25 Full Review Joshua H WOW for me this was visually amazing to watch. It's amazing a film so old is so compelling and interesting to look. I loved seeing they were able to come up with these incredible effects that just such into this world. Is it a bit silly? Yes but that's part of it's charm. This is movie magic. It completely destroyed the lie that I believe that I couldn't enjoy silent films. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/08/25 Full Review Robert C. Ahead of its time. And it influenced my favorite Smashing Pumpkins video. 👍 Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/02/25 Full Review Aldahbra Of its time. Hilariously wrong. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/21/25 Full Review AJ G I couldn’t give a low rating to the first ever film in television ever. So I give it 5 full stars Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/08/25 Full Review Read all reviews

A Trip to the Moon

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