Movie Thoughts: In the Shadow of the Moon

I decided during the weekend to go to another movie, and travelled into the city to see a documentary in limited release, "In the Shadow of the Moon." For a space buff of long standing, it seemed the appropriate thing to do. The movie is made up from period footage of the Apollo moon missions and modern interviews with many of the astronauts, including eight moonwalkers. (Neil Armstrong seems a definite presence all the same, and I recalled reading the recent authorised biography of him, "First Man," which takes care to point out that he isn't locked up in a compound but merely refrains from playing the publicity game.) As for everyone else, they seem to be "aging gracefully"; the movie doesn't seem designed to oppress with the passage of time.

I was familiar with a good amount of the period footage used, but getting to see it on a movie screen added much to the experience: I was able to notice details I hadn't before. There were also surprises along the way: footage of stage separation has been shown many times, but this movie keeps showing it right up to the moment where the camera pod itself starts to eject for recovery as the film runs out of the camera. There were also moments of odd cultural import, such as showing the opening credits of CBS's Apollo 11 coverage... which was sponsored by Kellogg's.

It was possible that the final part of the movie, after the return to Earth where the astronauts are merely discussing life experiences and insights, didn't quite appeal as much to me as seeing the space footage. It did bother me a little that I was reacting that way, too. With that acknowledged, though, I did like the movie quite a lot.