VIFF Review: In the Shadow of the Moon

In the Shadow of the Moon
September 28, 2007 1:00pm
VISA Screening Room @ Empire Granville 7

The Space Age was ushered in 50 years ago on October 4, 1957 with the launch of Sputnik. So it's an appropriate moment for producer Ron Howard to release this documentary film about the Apollo manned mission to the moon program. The story is told through personal interviews with some of the surviving Apollo astronauts, and with newly restored vintage footage.

I've watch many programs about Apollo, so it was a treat to see footage I've never seen before. The most surprising is a portion of a pre-taped speech by President Nixon prepared in case the Apollo 11 lunar lander failed to take off from the moon. Nixon salutes the bravery of Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin for their self-sacrifice in the service of mankind. Fortunately there was never a need to broadcast that tape.

More thrilling is an extended shot from the second stage rocket as the third stage separates. It's a well known shot that usually cuts off as the third stage blasts off to the moon, leaving the second stage behind. This time we get to see the abandoned second stage slowly rotate and tumble, bringing the breathtaking vista of Earth into view.

The interviews with the astronauts are the heart of the film. All are well- spoken, confident, and intelligent, but what's most striking is seeing how aged they are. With wrinkles, age spots, grey receding hair, and bifocals, they could be your grandfather. It's a shocking realization that it has been almost forty years since those Apollo missions.

Astronauts interviewed include Alan Bean, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, but Apollo 11 astronauts Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin get the most screen time. Neil Armstrong was not involved in this film.

Michael Collins was the command module pilot who did not walking on the moon. He dispels the press myths of his lonely vigil. In fact he enjoyed his time aboard the command module while Armstrong and Aldrin walked the moon. He contemplatively reflects that when he was in the shadow of the moon he was the farthest away any human being had ever been from Earth.

Buzz Aldrin tells his very funny story of following Neil Armstrong's footsteps as the second man on the moon. As he pauses before jumping off the ladder, he relieves himself in his spacesuit. More poignantly, Aldrin tells of the guilt he felt as his comrades went off to fight in Vietnam while he was getting his picture in the newspapers and declared a hero. His friends reassured him that what he was doing was important, and something Americans could take pride in.

The footage of Apollo 11 still resonates. You hold your breath as the lunar lander descends. And cheer as you hear "Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed." The legacy of Apollo is the renewed appreciation for our fragile blue dot rising over a lifeless moonscape.