‘Goodnight Oppy’ Telluride Review: A Mission To Mars Becomes A Heartfelt Documentary From Amazon And Amblin

No documentary has ever won an Oscar for Best Picture. Actually, there was no documentary. applicant if there was any chance Changing these statistics, at least in terms of nominations, can be huge, emotional and exciting. Goodnight It’s a very satisfying cinematic experience going beyond the genre, a kind of hybrid. e-wall Y Martian. It all happened in reality, but it’s pretty unusual in that it’s actually fun, and it’s all brought to new life in an irreversible new movie that will remind you of the best of us in times of division and negativity. .

Released tonight at the Telluride Film Festival, an Amazon Studios and Amblin Entertainment production is a fantasy travel story about two rovers sent to Mars on a mission that is supposed to be just a 90-day mission as it is typical life. But these rovers have turned into a 15-year adventure, largely due to the tenacity and determination of a true survivor named Opportunity, a robot that performs miracles before its due date and builds unforgettable relationships with the people around it. During a six-month voyage to the Red Planet, he and his partner Spirit were shot in space for several years, and in return they created a bond that must be seen to be believed.

of course I was… At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the mission’s base of operations, it’s surprising to see not only the scientists and engineers, but the sheer number of people who have followed the mission for such a long time since January 2004 and spanning 14 and a half years. . , magical, surprising and spooky.

Animated reenactments of real-life action on Mars using cabinets filled with archival footage provided by NASA, with solid locks, plus cutting-edge photorealistic special effects and wizards at Industrial Light & Magic, and some trusted friends. Thanks to interviews with people close to the project, the director Ryan White and his crew have created a heartwarming family movie that is a love letter to space exploration, but also has a genuinely emotional undertone that won’t leave you at home until it’s over. . .

The idea of ​​the mission was to land on the Martian surface and collect geological and atmospheric samples for these rovers, called Opportunity and Spirit, and eventually transfer them back to Earth to the enthusiastic team of the thousands who built them for that purpose. . What no one had thought of was the connection, from the musical wake-up calls sent out from JPL each morning to the monitoring of the travelers’ every, sometimes dangerous move as they went about their business. Before embarking on her adventures, Opportunity, or Opie as she called it, was revealed to be Wall-E’s doppelganger, the smartest girl in the class, and Spirit the troubled girl. By the time they reached Mars, that dynamic would unravel and Spirit’s lure would eventually wear off, but six years would not be without precedent. That was nothing compared to Opie’s stamina in all weather and unexpected situations while going without a partner.

The white in the previous document ask Ruth he was also able to scrutinize an endless array of stock footage taken over the years to identify key players who could tell the story. We’re with them over time as they explain in a humane way everything that makes this movie so endearing. Chief among them is principal investigator Steve Squires, now gray-haired but no less enthusiastic as he lives to tell the story, and Jennifer Trosper, project systems engineer and task manager who has literally been among the generations of scientists for more than 15 years. One of them, Abigail Freeman, was a high school student at the start of the mission and is now NASA’s chief scientist and the list goes on. The script (by White and Helen Cairns) is designed to introduce people to Opie’s sake who have been integral to success, the ups and downs of the years, changing guards but never the ultimate goal. . . .

A special thank you not only to the visual effects team at ILM, but also to editors Kearns and Reg Cabrera, who did a fantastic job of bringing this into a cohesive whole for 105 minutes. Plus there’s a great Blake Neal score backed by a great soundtrack of those “wake up” songs. Expert sound design is by Mark Mangini and Angela Bassett provides exceptional narration. Produced by Jessica Hargrave, Brandon Carroll, Matthew Goldberg, Justin Felvey, Darryl Frank and White. Amazon will have a theatrical release in November, which is good because you really need to see it on IMAX screens or their biggest screens and then start streaming at the end of the month. A space adventure worth the jump.