The majority of us are likely familiar with NASA’s failed attempt to land on the Moon in 1970 due to the gripping portrayal of events in the film ‘Apollo 13’ directed by Ron Howard in 1995 where Tom Hanks who plays Commander Jim Lovell declares ‘Houston, we have a problem’. The actual quote was ‘Houston, we’ve had a problem’ but then again, it’s only a movie (and considering that it is featured as one of the greatest ever made about space, we shall forgive them).
And all of you must have watched Jack Swigert, played by Kevin Bacon, in command module as a tensioned switch’s operation inducing the oxygen tanks to flare and explode–venting gas into a surrounding vacuum and abort the lunar landing attempt. So the astronauts had to adopt the strategy of using their beloved Lunar Module, Aquarius, which was originally intended for landing on the Fra Mauro Highlands until the crew devised a plan to return the sick vessel back home.
The new Netflix documentary series “Apollo 13: Survival” addresses the details of the mission and how an obsessed team managed to work the problem no matter how bleak things looked. It’s a painful evaluation of the tragic drama that was front page news across the world during the third week of April in 1970 at a time when interest in the American space program was beginning to decline. Netflix co-produced the film, together with ‘Cameron Productions’ and ‘Protozoa Pictures’, and has been credited with producing disturbing films.
Providing a quintessential portrayal of the events and the crew’s experience, British director Peter Middleton transforms our memories by making us feel the draught of sweat and smoke from the administration of space as eccentric and complex as space itself. Middleton merges actual footage from the Apollo missions, audio recordings of the famous Apollo 13 astronauts, news coverage, and interviews of loved ones who waited for the astronauts to return home.
Without a calm and focused mindset, it is impossible to give clear cut directions on how to build a temporary device that can be used to circulate air safely. However, that’s exactly what NASA engineers had to do in order to ensure the safety of the three men and the more than three hundred passengers after they safely returned to Earth.
Instead, their strategy appears to fall within a clinical definition of moving images, built primarily on some found footage sourced at NASA’s archives. Then again, this is part of the engrossing experience this film offers, creating a stark tension, reminding viewers about the perils of interstellar travel. It is more so as private enterprises seeking space tourism make attempts to launch and we know more about the likes of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the marooned astronauts at the ISS waiting where around early 2025 they are to return to Earth aboard SpaceX for the malfunctioning Boeing starliner capsule.
Middleton is an agile documentarian who also, in addition to the recent ‘The Real Charlie Chaplin’, has made a film that critics and audience alike fondly remember as ‘Notes on Blindness’ in 2016 and also goes by ‘Two Tales of a Judge’.
From the first mysterious photographs of our cratered moon taken from the command module before the incident, Apollo 13–Survival creates a disturbing sense of anticipation, even when we know that the outcome will be in our favor. Middleton was able to create a relevant image of the NASA of buzz-cuts and skinny ties, as we anticipate a manned moon exploration with the Artemis 2 mission in 2025.
Through using such a diverse range of aesthetics, the director successfully builds the ‘environment’ for the audience as archival testimonies, Kodachrome photos and motion pictures enable the audience to experience the action at a personal level.
As a historical document, “survival” tells an important story about the circumstances in which NASA finds itself and what prospects lie ahead. The project features a gorgeous ambient music by James Spinney, without breaking the illusion by talking heads from contemporary times or excess voice over explanations or 21st century elements that would ruin the Middleton wonders.
“I don’t often look back,” Lovell admits. “If you do not look ahead, then some of the meaning of life is lost. But being there and looking at the earth as it actually is, and knowing how lucky we are, Christmas tree ornaments in white and blue in the sky, which is completely black. And naturally you do not see the towns. You do not see the borders. You see the planet as it should be. A magnificent island in an ocean of darkness.”
Exploring the unconventional aspects of American culture and its society, this film entitled ‘Apollo 13: Survival’ deserves the attention of every person. Encircling a documentary approach, this film exclusively displays all the discoveries once made and dedicated to shuttle ‘Apollo 13’. ‘Apollo: 13’ based on the realities of the modern day deserves respect and is the ultimate inclusion for those who wish to be a part of the world during the Apollo era.
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