Amid a heated election cycle rife with partisan skirmishes over policy and ideology, the 55th anniversary of Apollo 11 quietly passed last month. The moon landing anniversary and NASA’s recent announcement of the Artemis II mission, a bold initiative to return to the lunar surface within two years, serve as powerful reminders of what the United States can achieve when united by a common goal.

Against this backdrop, Damien Chazelle’s 2018 film First Man stands as a meticulous and deeply personal chronicle of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s (Ryan Gosling) and, more broadly, the U.S.’s journey to the moon. Known for his unique directorial style, Chazelle blends an acute focus on ambition and sacrifice with a visually arresting and emotionally resonant narrative, which is well worth revisiting.