Der Traum von Apollo XI

A beautiful, poignant film. An agoraphobic's imaginative but troubled husband takes off with their son in a 1949 Pontiac to mark the 1969 lunar mission with a 'perfect act:' To match the mileage on the Pontiac and their arrival at a national park 'moon' crater to coincide with the distance to the moon and the astronauts' landing at 'Tranquility Base.' The agoraphobic wife overcomes her self-imposed, seven-year confinement in their house to pursue them in another unusual vehicle from her husband's collection. Various misadventures ensue. Watch for 'cameos.'

I really liked that movie for the originality of the plot. From the beginning, on the one hand, you have Apollo XI taking off to the Moon in the boldest and riskiest adventure in all the history of humanity, and on the other hand, you have Katherine Bellamy, who can't even step out of her house because she is too afraid of the world out there. And between those two extremes, you have Washington Bellamy, his husband, who has a drive to explore and discover but hasn't made a single trip with his 11-year old son because Katherine doesn't even want her son to step into a car.

Now Washington is too inspired by the Apollo odyssey and decides it is time for his son to discover something more than what you can find in books. They will drive from their home in California to a natural crater in Idaho, in exactly the same time as Apollo XI gets from Earth to Moon.

The parallelism between the father-and-son trip and the space journey is maintained from the beginning to the end. Of course, the father and the son will strengthen their ties during the trip, the son will learn why his mother is so timorous and... maybe there's a happy ending over there!

After seeing this movie I felt that the creators did a good job paralleling the expedition to the moon and the traveling of the father and son. The Indian, Eric Schweig, held the characters together through their trip and allowed them to patch up their relationship by leaving them alone. He continuously gives Andy good advice concerning life and his father. But what I couldn't figure out was why they had to drive through Montana to get to Idaho from California, it is completely out of the way. The plot evolves as the mother finally leaves the home after 7 years of being boarded up inside. Ted Danson plays the father who is a genius professor with a strange behavioral side to him. But not to give the story away I will stop now and leave the rest to those that are interested in it.

Pontiac Moon is such a perfect movie that it's easily one of my top 5 favourites. It's intelligent, fun and perfectly crafted and acted. Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and Ryan Todd perform as if the roles were written for them and they carry the film with gusto and subtlety. It is such a joy to watch (and I've watched it several times) that I can't help but wonder why others can't "get it" but must pick at points that are simply irrelevant. Do you question whether Superman can actually fly or where is the exact location of the Shire? Pontiac Moon is a movie for heaven's sake and it's hugely enjoyable, moving and entertaining. It encourages you to step out of your box and go out into the world because life is meant to be an adventure of the mind and body. This is not for people who wish to live average and mediocre lives of quiet desperation. I'll watch it again and again.

Thank you, Ted Danson.

Ted Danson snoozes his way through the film with real-life wife Mary Steenburgen. Very bad script, very bad direction, very boring - tries to be a grand epic with hidden meanings but it is just not. Bad acting, especially on the child's part. A Haley Joel Osment he is not. One to skip.

2/5 stars -

John Ulmer