First, I am very hard to please when it comes to space docs. I was there, I lived it intensely as a young boy. I have a great emotional involvement in the lunar program. So my statements are coming from that overall perspective. Most space docs feature awful music and bloated scripts coupled to grainy and unprofessional film edits. Rest assured, this one is NOT in that category. It is very well made, the music, while not of the same quality as Philip Sheppard's ("In the Shadow of the Moon", "Moon Machines"), still is good enough to be appropriate and to not damage the hearing. And some of it is quite touching - the song "Wait" by M83 features prominently at the beginning and end of the film, to very strong and heartfelt effect.
And it's that effect that bothers me - the overall tone of this film is one of loss, of sadness, of disillusionment. Those things are hard enough to live with in the real world. All of us who were emotionally involved with the space effort and dreamed of having our chance to be a part of a team that would carry us to other worlds, know these feelings as personal realities. To have them touched on so directly was - uncomfortable. I was almost in tears at the end.
As far as the filmmaker's technique - he makes a terrible mistake by not clearly identifying the speakers in all cases. There are only a dozen or so of them, and yet them seem like a battalion, because it becomes impossible to keep track of who has been introduced and who is new. Some of their voices I was very familiar with - but some of these people are completely new to me. What do they look like? Why not put a face and a name tag with the speaker? It seems affected and it is distracting.
The film footage is a real mixture. Some of it is brand new to me. The spectacular footage of the Vanguard disaster is expertly synced to the actual sounds recorded by the reporters present. This is a wonderful idea and gives a wonderful "you are there" quality to the film. But many of the clips are the same tired ones that have been recycled in a dozen space docs. As the film goes on, the new material is harder and harder to come by.
And that brings me to the main problem with the film - after a very, very strong start, by the third hour it begins flags and gets lost in its own discursive sentimentality. The final third borders on chaos, and a person unfamiliar with events would not be able to form a coherent picture of them from this source.
On the plus side - the stories of Poppy Northcutt and Ed Dwight were fascinating. My already low opinion of Chuck Yeager dropped another three notches after hearing Dwight tell his heartbreaking story. At the same time, my respect for Ed White, tragically killed in the Apollo 1 fire, went up by the same amount.
So is this worth seeing? Absolutely. As I said, it's way better than the usual NASA documentary potboilers. But it's not in the same class as David Sington's films, mentioned above. Those films offered something this film does not - hope and solace in an unjust world.
Edit added after 3 viewings - now I get it. It is a great film.
Another edit - sorry bear with me.
I cannot stop watching this film - because it gets better with each viewing. This is an extremely well thought-out film.
I am getting used to the feeling of loss that carries it, but also to the message of hope it contains.
