When
I was a kid, many of us had NASA space photography posters in our rooms.
Astronauts were cool and we were the leading nation for space exploration. So
much has changed for successive generations. Viewers can recapture a taste of
the idealism and optimism we have lost in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee’s short
documentary Earthrise, which screens
during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
The
three-man crew of Apollo 8 make it clear nobody had given any prior thought to
taking photos of the Earth from space. When designated camera man Bob Anders
had time, he was supposed to focus on the Moon, especially while passing behind
the dark side. Of course, their plans changed when they started to take in the stunning
sight of our blue planet. Yet, it was the sight of the Earth rising above the Moon’s
horizon as they emerged from the Moon’s shadow that would become one of NASA’s
most defining and iconic images.
Earthrise is one of the mot
poetic space docs ever produced, which makes it distinctive and cool. However, the
film’s greatest merit is perhaps its poignant reminder of just how triumphant
the now somewhat hazily remembered Apollo 8 mission was at the time. They were
the first to leave Earth’s orbit and fully orbit the Moon—arguably the single
biggest leap forward before the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Vaughan-Lee
includes long, thoughtful reflections from all three crew-members, Frank Borman,
James Lovell, and William Anders, which also makes Earthrise a pretty significant film document. Their perspective is
both humanistic and galactic.
Unfortunately,
the film brings us back down to Earth when it accurately points out only twenty-four
astronauts have experienced this spectacular Earthrise view. Vaughan-Lee leaves
unsaid the cold hard truth that we currently do not have the capacity send
manned spaceflights back to Moon or anywhere else beyond our atmosphere, but we
will spell it out, because it needs to be emphasized. Regardless, Earthrise is a very well put together film
that engages on emotional and cerebral levels. Very highly recommended, it
screens again this afternoon (4/28) as part of the Home Sweet Home documentary shorts block, at this year’s Tribeca
Film Festival.
