Have a lot of high appreciation for documentaries, on a diverse range of subjects. The story behind the two voyager space-crafts was a remarkable achievement at the time and still holds much fascination now, even for someone who isn't an expert and has admittedly never considered science a famous subject of theirs.
'The Farthest' does its subject justice and as every bit a remarkable achievement. It is for me a highlight of 2017, and is accessible to anybody. One does not have to have deep knowledge of the story of the two voyagers to be completely fascinated by 'The Farthest'. It will illuminate those who do, nobody should be frustrated at not learning anything new, but has enough that will attract a wider audience who may have heard of it but not in great detail or have no knowledge and want to know more.
Visually, 'The Farthest' is stunning, beautifully photographed and those images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are enough to take the breath away. Loved the wide variety of music choices and felt they added a lot.
Emer Reynolds' direction impresses hugely, she does play it safe with combining the NASA interviews with simulations of CGI, poetic shots of Earth and archive footage. Yet it doesn't feel too safe at all, with enough ambition that never comes over as over-ambitious.
Loved the way 'The Farthest' was written and assembled. The scientific elements are hugely intriguing and illuminating to anybody watching regardless of how expertly or limited their knowledge. Then there are some philosophical elements that are thought-provoking and even touching, without being self-indulgent.
Where 'The Farthest' particularly excels are how the enthusiasm (perceptive and honest and never glorifying) of the crew (namely the scientists and engineers) is conveyed, adding even further to how inspirational this mission and story are, and how ingeniously imaginative the technology (the technology itself and behind the scenes of how it came to be) is in making the mission possible. These are presented in a very humble manner.
In summation, remarkable. 10/10 Bethany Cox
