MovieChat Forums > Moon (2009) Discussion > Great Movie. But never ever want to watc...

Great Movie. But never ever want to watch again.


I mean great performance from Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. But frankly it is way way way too depressing. Its the same reason i can watch Shawshank Redemption hundred times over. But never seen Schindler's List a second time. Not to say that isn't a Great Movie. But you can only take so much of the bleak soul crushing aspect of the Holocaust. Before you want to kill yourself. Ill admit this movie is not as bad as that. But seeing Sam Rockwell slowing degrading is pretty grueling.

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This is what my cousin told me about Requiem for a Dream.
Although, i might agree on watching it only once, since i did not find it that interesting, but not in terms of its depressive aspects.

But i dont mind rewatching Moon, it is actually one of the rare new century movies that i really like and want to watch again, i cant remember a movie made in this century that i would seek out and watch again.
Although, i did watch Jurassic World, Star Wars TFA, Gravity and The Martian twice.
But ive seen Moon more and feel more personally connected with it.
Star Wars and Jurassic World were mainly extensions of my childhood experiences.

While it is depressing, the scenery and atmosphere of Moon just totally connects with me.
I like the gritty melancholy, its what life is to me.
I like the exploration of the human,clone and artificial personalities, meanwhile you get to see a beautiful setting on the Moon, with Alien-inspirated decors too.
There is suspense, wonder, empathy, discovery, humanity, sci-fi and realism.
There arent many boxes left to tick for me.

Despite its depressive note, i just find the total package to be very well made and therefore find it entertaining to watch.

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i rewatched it a couple of days ago and it was awesome to rewatch it. i don't see it as depressing, because in the end the clones beat the system.

i agree on requiem though. brilliant film, but i don't know if i could stomach it a second time.

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SPOILERS*
Schindler's list is great to watch again, it has horror, comedy, romance, and more importantly a cast. Moon is very boring with one actor basically. Once we find out he's a clone that's the movie solved, why would I want to watch 90mins of one actor with barely any sets. A good sci-fi needs a great cast, and albeit some action.

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then watch the Hollywood version of Moon, called Oblivion.

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I don't like Hollywood movies I like more artsy movies, not all these Nolan style puzzle movies, surprise twists, or who-dun-it's.. Bring the art back.

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Then try Love (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1541874/), or idk, Under the Skin or Beyond the Black Rainbow, or even Source Code (which Tom Cruise funnily also Holly-fied by making Edge of Tomorrow).
Not my personal favorites, but just some suggestions for "different" movies.

I like different movies too, but you make yourself sound very snobby and picky.
First you want more action and now you want more art.
Its clear that you didnt think much of Moon, although i responded to your question thread before i found out how you really thought about it in the other threads.

I think Moon is a work of art, you think its boring and focused too much on one character, but i strongly disagree, or agree to disagree.

They are not exactly one and the same character, besides you skipped mentioning Gerty and the subtleties within the story, the cycle of Sam in all of his stages and emotions. Reborn as a clone, but also becoming a better man. Dying and surviving at the same time.
Bullock's Gravity is weakest force in comparison, they might have made it more action-y and took the emotions further into life & death situations, but her acting just wasnt on par. The Martian was better in acting, but the emotional side of the story just didnt go as deep as Moon.
Silent Running has a very distracting soundtrack, i like the story, but the acting and sets were so-so.
Either way, i think Moon is in a goldie-lock zone, it doesnt specifically do anything special or outrageous, but it does what it does very well.
Like a Rembrandt portrait.

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I said "albeit SOME action" I'm not one of these new CGI babies that eat up these new Marvel or SW flicks.. I just feel a good sci-fi should hold a few of each emotion, and action falls into space escapades.
I checked those movies you mentioned thanks, but they felt a bit too girly, I guess I'm more of a cyberpunk guy, I should mention I'm a guy, it's cool if you're a girl with different tastes.
This is my fav sci-fis http://www.imdb.com/list/ls063539295/

My beef with Moon was it's hard to only have one or two sets, especially with one character. Gravity at least had the exploration into the universe, and gave a great feel to float around per se, lot's tech stuff too, but Moon felt like it had little to do with Space or any sci-fi, it IS a good plot and creative story, but basically good to see once, although to do 90mins based on one single idea, with one actor is very risky.
Martian was for kids, havent seen Silent Running yet, maybe check out my list so you can see where my crazy head is at, thanks.

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Oh i see where your crazy head is at though, which reminds me, The Black Hole is also a fun watch.

What i dont get is why Interstellar is among your favorites, since it is a Hollywood production, a Nolan puzzle movie with surprise twists etc., too.
I thought the love ending was weak, at least with the movie Love(2011) you wont be "mislead" with sci-fi mumbo jumbo to eventually make it all about a time loop of a father and his love for his daughter. Even Moon had this bond, but it was only one of the many aspects of it.

Gravity and The Martian in my opinion were modern retreads of Destination Moon, both took a different course and focused on different elements from D.Moon.
While Interstellar felt like a modern retread of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and 2001:ASO.

Moon does not have 1 character.. they are clones but they are not one and the same character.
Like Orphan Black, same actress, different characters, or Keaton's Multiplicity.
They are supposed to be Sam, but it is clear that they are mentally not the same guy, they are in totally different states of mind, besides we get to see the full scope of Sam, every emotion is covered, from happy to sad, ecstatic and euphoric to depressed and defeated, and so forth. I was intrigued by Rockwell's portrayal and acting, having the soothing voice of Spacey was also a plus.
I thought the settings were great too, loved the view, liked the Alien-inspired base interior a lot too, so once again, you disliked what i liked about it.
Who is the crazy head now?

Also, just a minor detail, but Gravity doesnt explore much into the universe, the bulk of it takes place in LEO(Low Earth Orbit), while Moon obviously situates itself on the Moon, which is further away from Earth than any of the current Space stations, but i get that you meant the floaty part.
Many people will even argue if Gravity even classifies as a Sci-Fi, try it out, youll find threads about it, probably some even with comments from me in them, since i do think it is a Sci-Fi, or, at the very least if i had to choose, subjectively can be seen as something of a physics-drama, like TV does with the medical drama classification, since "medical" implies the science of medicine, just like physics would of course imply the science of physics.


Funny that you would think of me as a girl though, because most of my suggestions were actually a subtle mocking your crazy head and proclaimed sense of taste, so i guess this was your comeback.
So, since youre a guy in his thirties, probably similar age as i am, you therefore like Terminator and RoboCop and.. wait, no Matrix? What happened there, was it too mainstream for you?

I just think you are overstating your taste, because several movies on your list are not generally considered best, or works of art.
If you are going to put movies like Moon 44 on the list, it will really stretch your definition of art, or 'best'.
Putting Interstellar on it would conflict with your taste too, but i wouldnt deny that it looked very pretty, but.. Nolan, surprise twist etc.. but whatever.
Having said that, i did enjoy and favorite many of the movies on your list, but it seems that we differ in angles, we take different things out of the same concepts.
Besides, Moon deals with many Sci-Fi staples, Clone technology, base on the Moon, its in the future, memory implants, sentient robotics, etc.
It might not be as much in your face as Total Recall or Terminator, but its definitely there.

I could suggest Automata(2014), Sleep Dealer, Journey to the far side of the Sun(or Doppelganger 1969), Seconds, Solaris, Gattaca, WarGames(1983), Dark City, Frequency, War of the Worlds(1953), Sphere, Europa Report, Brainstorm, Twelve Monkeys, the Man from Earth, K-PAX, Predestination, Dredd, Soylent Green, Dreamscape, Virtuosity, Pandorum, Sky Captain an the World of Tomorrow, The Signal, District 9, Brazil, 1984, The Truman Show, Vanilla Sky, A Beautiful Mind, The Thirteenth Floor, just to name a few, just to broaden your scope a bit, instead of putting them into "for kids & for girls" boxes.
I mean, Star Wars is a "for boys"(meaning, kids) movie franchise, since you are a guy now, you should have outgrown it by now, right?

Anyway, apparently it seems hard to understand for you that, the things you disliked about Moon were things that i did like.
I was very pleased with the risk that Duncan Jones took, and it made me a real appreciator for Sam Rockwell too, i just loved it and still do, is that so crazy? Or are you still supposed to be the crazy head?

*shrug*

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I agree Interstellar was very hokey, and unrealistic, but it still held some of that sci-fi magic, of course I had it halfway down my list.

Well I never said Gravity went into other galaxies, but had a good feeling of being in space, it quenched my juvenile sci-fi thirst in that aspect, Moon just felt like a thriller really not much to hold onto the fantasy of sci-fi, perhaps if they made it a lot darker, it was bloody and depressing, but again 90mins of mostly one actor is unseen in any other movies.
Moon44's cast is amazing, and it feeds the sci-fi fans with sets, emotion and that dreaded word "action"

Terminator and Robocop are way more explicit than Matrix, I havent watched Matrix in a while, but it's decent, can't remember if it's even rated R.

Haha yup I'm man/boy I suppose, but we all need some brain candy or guilty pleasures from time to time like the older SW. I probably will take those off my list it is kind of silly.. What did you think of Hardware?

Thanks for the suggestions, I've only seen Brazil which I hated, the plot never went anywhere, and what a waste of DeNiro. I'll check the rest out, I've seen quite a few of those, and they're great.
No need to shrug dear fellow IMDB'er Rockwell was amazing, the plot was very original maybe I need a second viewing, but dare I say it's a lack luster boring movie. Perhaps if he had more internal thoughts, or pulse racing, heart thudding sound effects, combined with over the top symphony it could have been more in my face?

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Haha thanks for being a good sport :)
I was kinda passive aggressive and it could have turned ugly, but im glad that you responded in the way that you did.

First of all though, why would you want to remove Star Wars from the list?
I mean, i only mentioned them because i thought they were in contrast to your criteria, but i personally like them a lot too, i just dont really think of them as high quality art or deep story telling, but they are entertaining for sure, they are favorites of mine just the like Indiana Jones movies, they are playful adventures, good fun, but nothing too sophisticated.

I have not watched Hardware though, but i do love a good symbiotic or sentient technology story, so i will probably check it out soon.
I see that you have a similar interest too, because i also liked The Fly, RoboCop and Terminator too, which deals with a similar symbiotic sentience thing.
Oh i see that the list has changed a bit, but yeah, Class of 1999 deals with a similar theme too, i have not seen that one yet either, so its going to be on my watch list.
You probably like Ghost in the Shell too, but didnt add it to the list because it is animated, but i actually consider Gravity to be animated too, since it is 95% Special Effects.
But Akira, and movies like Castle in the Sky and Iron Giant are movies that i like as well, from childish playful approaches to downright freaky and gritty, but as long as the story is good and the art is there, so will i.

On the other hand, movies like Hellraiser or Event Horizon and Pandorum are a bit too focused on the gore and horror for my taste, but i do love Alien, the Xeno is the greatest monster in history in my opinion.
I mention Hellraiser because it is gritty and surprisingly artful, but it lacks the depth to really make it a favorite of mine, despite that movies like Spaceballs or Attack of the Killer Tomatoes do make it up higher on my favorite list, but thats probably because of its comedy element, but then again, i usually dont like Horror-Comedy either, with exception of Tucker & Dale.

Moon 44 was enjoyable as well, it was recommended to me by someone as a movie about "Space Aids", and it was pretty hilarious once i got the reference, with the bastard getting sick, but yeah, the overall quality of the movie is not very high, it looks dated, and the acting in my opinion was not at the same height of Sunshine or Alien, but the diversity within the movie and many characters made it a fun watch.
I would put it beside movies like the 5th Element and Space Truckers, some guilty pleasure "bad" movies.

I just stumbled upon "Moontrap" while browsing for movies, and it will have a sequel coming out this year called Moontrap Target Earth, i have not seen it yet, but it caught my eye, maybe you might like it as well.

I still enjoyed Interstellar too though, i actually loved it immensely, until it became a plot about love, ironically that turned me off a lot, because it felt like a cop out, the movie was rather cold and scientific up until the ending.
To me it felt like he was doing another Inception ending, except it was in Space-Time now and not inside the mind.. or was it... haha
I dont know, there was just something off about it, and it wasnt any of the actors either, certainly not the effects and imagery because those were amazing.

But i dont really require a movie to be rated R to be more special to me.
While i do like RoboCop's grit and Terminator bloodbaths, or even Predator gore, i also like a 'clean' movie like Star Wars, Back to the Future, Saturn 3 or Rocketship X-M etc.

There is just something in movies that you either connect to, or not.

Brazil is also one of those movies that you either love or hate, although i do neither, its not entirely my cup of tea, but i do think it was fresh and different in a good way, Terry Gilliam does not like to polish things up, which can be great, but in the case of Brazil it just was a bit messy, but it worked perfectly for Twelve Monkeys.

I get what youre saying about Moon though, but i just cant help but like the things that you listed as bad points, i got totally immersed in the base and scenery, i feel for the Sam's and the minimal change of sets really help me to connect more to Sam and Gerty, i simply loved it. There are enough big busters out there, this movie felt like a nice little homage to the classics.

I skip reading the bottom line, because it is usually some lame signature.

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I guess I remove SW and other mainstream movies from my list because, lists get more views and feedback with very selective titles, just typing in SW would have about 1000 related list results.
I`d be interested in seeing a list from you, I think they`re super fun, and helpful to IMDB`ers.

Oh man you must see Hardware and Class of 99`, I love 99`I also have a 80`s teen/punk movie list.
Anime has it`s place but I guess I can`t really get into it versus actaul actors, although Heavy Metal was a gem, I`ll give Ghost in a Shell a view sometime.

Hellraiser is excellent also in my best horror list, Hellbound IMO is almost superior in some ways, especially gore and shocks. But it wouldn`t fit a sci-fi list. Ya I can`t do semi comedies at all.

I actually haven`t finished Moon 44 yet, but the cats is solid, it has a bit of comedy but it seems rougher it might turn out bad so I`ll delete it.

I`ll check out Moon Trap. I think Brazil again tried to use too much comedy, and with no plot it`s very hard to sit there for 140mins.
Interstellar started out good, but I`m kind of an astronomy buff, and the whole black hole take just didn`t click, especially the love ending, but the different planet discovery made for great viewing. I`ll still have to check out Black Hole the movie haha.

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Good point about obscure titles in the list, because they would attract people with a more defined or specific taste, rather than just ticking the familiar boxes.
I do like lists as well from time to time, but i usually do polls instead, and my answers tend to be pretty monotonous because they suggest new polls based on my answers, so i usually end up voting for the same thing in different lists.

I think i will make a list this weekend or next week, im kinda curious myself as well, but i usually cant decide which way to go or when to stop, so, it might become a big collection of bits and pieces or a short specific list, i dont know yet.

I must say though, i usually dont like High School movies, because High School and college were merely phases in my life that i had to go through, but the schools themself hardly spark any excitement for me, id rather watch a movie about a group of friends instead. This goes for any genre btw, from the Faculty to Scream and American Pie etc,. compared to Stand By Me, Super 8, Cloverfield etc. (i should probably name better movies, but i couldnt think of any at the moment). Teenagers in movies are also not really what i wanna see either, id rather have kids or adults.
Because with kids, you can go all Fantasy and Fantastic, like Pan's Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal, while with adults you can get some proper explanations and decent acting, teenagers tend to use up screentime with a lot of screaming and irrational behavior, mostly the blame of the writers of course because they wrote it with teenagers in mind, but im just not a fan of that. But im interested in seeing Class of '99 nevertheless.

Youre probably right about Hellraiser vs Hellbound, its been a while since ive watched them, but i mainly said Hellraiser as it is the collective name for the whole franchise.

Semi-Comedies are usually not very good movies, they usually focus on the 'wrong' part, or their choices of monsters, style or jokes just dont match my interests, but i was surprised by Tucker & Dale vs Evil, it had a proper production value and i liked the morbid hysteria, but yeah, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is bad, but i grew to like them as a kid, mostly too because i played the Game Boy game a lot before i even knew that it was based on the movies, but should you watch some, id recommend part 2 the most, mostly because it was also one of Clooney's first acting jobs(notice his eye-twitch) and its balanced much better than the first one, but the first one is a (cult)classic either way. Maybe it also helped that they didnt air the Killer Tomatoes cartoon in Holland, im not sure if it was bad, but at least i didnt have a chance to have my memory tainted or overdosed by it. But yeah, they are not really Sci-fi much anyway, aside from the laboratory stuff.

Im surprised that you havent finished Moon 44 yet haha, like wtf :P
I gave it a 6, because it is diverse and kept my attention going throughout, even though it is kind of a bad movie, they tried hard, but i guess the budget restraints just give it the cheap B-movie feel, but that doesnt always have to be a bad thing, or maybe i just watched a really crappy stream, but i doubt it.
Some mid-90s movies just looked much worse than 80s movies, probably because in the 80s they had mastered practical effects and the 90s was the start of the new CGI era.

I havent seen Moon Trap either though, but it popped up as a suggestion, and i did like Apollo 15 more than i expected i would, even though the 'enemy' still makes me laugh, but the movie had a good atmosphere, kinda why i enjoyed Europa Report more than i thought i would. I guess im not really turned off by "Found Footage" movies, as long as i can connect with the material in some way or another.
Moon Trap might not be a Found Footage movie though, i guess i just digressed for no reason :)

I didnt mind the comedy in Brazil, but after a couple of plot twists, im kinda left thinking:"Im not sure if i even care anymore if any of this is real or imagined", but i still enjoyed it. But if i wanted to watch some mind-F movies, i might rather go for Vanilla Sky, Truman Show, A Beautiful Mind, or even Total Recall. Although i get that im listing cliche movies, but other movies rarely feel as well balanced, not as rewatchable.
Ineption (that was a typo, but i like it), did only intrigue for about half of the movie, the action, the chases and shooting, at some point became a drag for me, i would rather have wanted them to dig more into the concept of the layers of consciousness-es. Sorta like Being John Malkovich (when they enter his head and float around in it, that was really similar to the floating around in Inception), but they focused too much on romance, unfortunately.

I guess that is why i liked the Matrix, because it deals with a similar theme, but it wasnt too focused on romance, it left enough room for action and explanations.
It was dark and surreal, i like that kinda stuff.

Anime can be good, but i mainly stick to the movies, i never really watch any cartoons anymore anyway.
Ghost in the Shell is one of the big ones, like Akira.
I actually expected that you would have seen it, because it is basically the go-to movie equal of Blade Runner, they go different ways though, but you kinda just have to have seen it at least once in your life.
For the same reason i watched Heavy Metal, but yeah, i wasnt a reader of the magazine either, and it just felt like a bad and slightly perverted acid trip without much structure. The music also wasnt really doing much for me, but i can still see why it is a cult hit.
But if i want to watch an animation movie, id probably put Ghost in the Shell on, or Akira, or any of the Miyazaki movies, or Iron Giant, Street Fighter the animation movie, 3X3 Eyes, Space Battleship Yamato, or even Gandahar or Fantastic Planet, either way, i wouldnt randomly watch Heavy Metal again :)

I agree on Interstellar though, but i was prepared to take the leap with them, but as soon as it turned out to be the bookshelf, then it just got worse from there and yeah, they lost me there. I dont mind impossibilities, 2001:ASO did the impossible, so.. there was really no reason for Interstellar to do it too, and then failing in my opinion by rationalizing it as a love connection being stronger than space and time. I will watch Old Yeller if i want to see that and cry.
It just didnt connect with me, but i was fine with the whole Black Hole bullstool, because i was curious where they would take it... well, they can keep it.


Damn this was supposed to be a much shorter post.

I skip reading the bottom line, because it is usually some lame signature.

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interstellar....ugh...not a fan!

i was lost from the beginning - all the earth-bound section was a mess. it either doesn't make sense (regular dust storms that almost bury cars but leave corn fields standing and healthy?) or is plainly anomalous (i guess it didn't help that i'd just seen the ken burns dust bowl documentary that all the old folks talking heads were lifted from and those were clearly from the 1930s and not the 2030s or whenever). once it got into space it was ok but just had too much baggage to overcome for me.

and if i never hear "murrrrrph!" again, i'm good with that. (uh...dude...you actually have two children, remember?)

twelve monkeys...i've seen that one over a hundred times and it's always good. brazil is gilliam's version of 1984, it's hardly plotless!

but why neglect real science fiction like spaceballs and dark star! 😏

and if you really want brain candy, how about...brain candy? (by the kids in the hall gang)

is there really all that much difference in execution between 2001 and moon?

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Haha

Yeah i was really split on Interstellar.
Ive learned to avoid reviews and any kind of spoilers about movies until ive watched them, so i was able to get into it sorta neutral.
I knew it was going to screw up at some point though, but it kept surprising me and i didnt mind suspending my disbelief, i wanted them to get into space asap, which was obviously the best part, but they really snapped my tether at the end.

I actually dont remember a second kid.. I thought it was just the girl.
But the namecalling was a bit annoying, felt like i was watching an animation movie where they always yell each others' names too when something happens, it seems that live action movies now start doing it more too.

Ive seen 12 Monkeys only twice, but ive liked it a lot each time, i even like the TV show :) which is obviously not as good, but it has some of the gritty charm of the movie.

I wouldnt call Brazil plotless either, the plot is all over the place hehe
But it can be a bit incoherent or confusing, which was the point too.
I did recognize the theme of the movie, but had not linked it to 1984, maybe because i always link 1984 to THX-1138.

Spaceballs is indeed science, as Dr. Brooks creates another masterpiece.
I liked Dark Star, i watched several of those movies a while ago, but i remember liking Battle Beyond the Stars a bit more.

I havent seen Brain Candy, nor did i know who the Kids in the Hall were, but i might check them out, or start watching some skits on YT to ease into their style.

Damn, i dont like constantly starting my sentences with 'I', so, i .. thought id put a different word at the front instead.
So yeah, the difference in 2001 and Moon?
2001:ASO is trying to tell the story of mankind and its evolution, since i interpret the ending as a possibility to the next step of evolution, some kind of space transcendence, or, i dont know, something trippy at least.

Moon does not take such giant leaps, it takes a small step for mankind, since it only focuses on Sam and his cycles, but as far as he knows, time stands still on Earth for him, because he is totally cut off.
So if Gerty, Sam and the base would continue to work properly for millions of years, Sam would have had no idea what had changed on Earth or to mankind in the meantime, unless there was a major war and Sam could literally watch mankind go down in flames. Btw, Love(2011) sorta does a take on that.

But aside from Gerty and the sterile base interior, i would not really compare 2001 to Moon. Interstellar, in my opinion is more like a modern, rationalized(and failed) version of 2001:ASO, but i would say that Moon is kinda unique, which 2001 definitely is, so there is something else they have in common :)

I skip reading the bottom line, because it is usually some lame signature.

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I might watch it again. But not for a while.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAIJ3Rh5Qxs

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Interesting thread.

Personally, while it had some sad moments, I didn't find Moon all that depressing overall. There were enough positive aspects to offset the negatives, for example in the way the Sams (and GERTY) worked together and were prepared to put each others needs before their own. And the ending was at worst ambiguous regarding what was going to happen next both to Sam 6 and to the remaining clones.

My personal choice for "film that I thought was amazing but never want to see again" is Nil By Mouth.

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I get depressed easily, and there are movies that have absolutely traumatized me and plunged me into the most horrible, painful anxiety and experience I can only describe as 'living nightmare' for days (one of them mentioned in this thread, but I want to forget it even exists, so I am not even able to write its name)..

..but Moon is not that depressing to me, it's more like a 'philosophical thought movie' and a wonderful performance of a sole actor - also, it doesn't really have 'actual romance', although it of course tries to inject something like that in it.

I find it funny that the robot is the most sympathetic character of this movie..

This movie is very thought-provoking, but it's not that depressing. Besides the philosophical side, it makes you think about many things - for example, the speed of the rocks flying - I wonder how realistic that is. How fast / slow would they fly in Moon's gravity?

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You think THIS is depressing?

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