No matter how many films you see, you never know when your next watch might become a seminal experience in your life. This recently happened to me when I finally watched The Red Shoes for the first time. Now, obviously this is an esteemed classic, lauded by cinephiles the world over and made by certified master filmmakers Powell and Pressburger. Martin Scorsese seems to bring it up any chance he gets (which is honestly what nudged me to finally put it on). However, simply because a film is so lauded it does not mean it will personally connect with you on such a high level; art is entirely subjective. Knowing its reputation, I expected to, at the very least, appreciate the film and even potentially to love it. However, I did not expect the central ballet sequence to have the effect on me that it did.

The film as a whole was excellent, but it is the titular ballet that is perhaps the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, a piece of filmmaking that has provoked a stronger reaction in me than anything I’ve experienced prior (or at least in recent memory). It absolutely entranced me and brought me to tears in such a way that I hadn’t noticed until one escaped and slipped down my cheek. Until I let out something between a sob and a sigh. My entire being was wrapped up in the events on screen and the emotion overwhelmed me.

It is hard to articulate exactly what it was that brought on this reaction, except that it was everything. The alchemy of the music, the acting, the dance and the filmmaking. Every component working in perfect synchronicity to produce something astounding. There was also a level of awe and admiration at the visual effects for a film released on 1948; there is something to knowing the creativity that went into it that modern films no longer require. It is a beautiful display of multiple art forms and artists coming together and a testament to the undeniable effect they can produce. When the sequence ended, I just had an overwhelming feeling that that was the greatest thing I had ever seen in my life, across any artform.

I watched the film as part of a back-to-back couple of movie days (highly recommend) which I think heightened a feeling of exploration and how you don’t really know what experience you’re going to encounter when you see your next film. Watching a variety of films in a row gave me wildly different experiences and really drove home that, no matter the reputations of the films in your list, you can’t predict what is next. Films touch each of us differently, and even those films claimed to be the greatest of all time may not reach us in the way a random, more polarising film might, or you might find yourself immediately becoming a card-carrying member of their fan club. I didn’t know that on that random day I would have an experience I won’t forget, simply because of the film I chose to put on. I might have expected an incredible experience or to see ‘one of the greatest films ever made’, but I did not anticipate it touching me so deeply. It reinvigorated my belief in the power of art and the way it enriches our lives. Sitting on my own sofa, watching a film for free on the BBC, something transcendent happened. Art, particularly cinema, can do that. Anytime, anywhere, you never know the precise experience you are going to have.

So, keep watching, keep exploring and keep your heart and mind open. You may have your breath taken by an all-time classic, little-known indie or even fairly derided flop (you never know). Stay curious and stay excited for all of the wonderful art you will get to experience in your life.