A healing journey through grief

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2018)

Damien Chazelle has created yet another masterpiece, only this time adding a new layer of emotional background and development to an otherwise well-known and reiterated story. I would like to try to be brief and avoid spoilers, therefore suffice it to say that, while yes, First Man is the story of a man, Neil Armstrong, and the way he made it to the moon over the previous years as well as the actual mission of Apollo 11, it is also a universal story that pretty much applies to all of mankind (to paraphrase his famous words).
A story that is universal in the way various perspectives are presented, in the way emotional (in)stability defines who you are, what you do, how you deal with your challenges, whether these are bringing up kids or actually landing a ship on the Moon. A story about grief, about expressing one's emotions, about shutting down and about healing and moving on.
At the end of the day, First Man is a point-of-view film. Even its camera angles highly emphasize this, escalating further and further as the film progresses, along with the emotional escalation that delivers jaw-dropping moments, both on Earth and in Space. Chazelle found a beautiful way to make technical aspects and choices a part of the narrative, that's not something you see every day. Can't wait for his next feature.