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In Woody Allen’s so called “love song” for New York, Manhattan (1979), he uses the city as a backdrop for intertwining stories of love and life amidst isolation and disconnect. These ideas are perfectly visualized in the scene where Isaac (Woody Allen) and Mary (Diane Keaton) escape from a thunderstorm by ducking into the planetarium.

It is here where the two characters finally seem to connect as they walk through the exhibit as silhouettes against a celestial backdrop. The two argue about what they find important in life as Isaac infamously states, “Nothing worth knowing can be understood with the mind.” They talk about emotions and rationale and at one point are completely eclipsed by the darkness until the slightest sliver of light illuminates just their profiles.

Part of what makes the scene so wonderful is the juxtaposition of Isaac and Mary’s talk of feelings with the void of space, as represented by the planetarium. Throughout their discussion, parallels are continually drawn between the two so that despite their supposed differences in their conversation, they’re more alike than they seem to want to believe. The fact that this exchange takes place in a space representative of isolation and loneliness shows just how separate they really are from their own feelings.

The gorgeous photography of it all almost seems to sum up Allen himself as it takes the neuroses and insecurities we all have and makes them beautiful. Manhattan is truly Woody Allen’s masterpiece, and this scene alone has the power to prove it.