IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON (2007) (***1/2)

This documentary tells the story of the Apollo missions from the mouths of the men who went to the moon. But what makes the film special is that it doesn’t chronicle every detail of every mission, but instead talks with the astronauts about what it felt like to go to the moon. This intimacy is often moving, as well as thought provoking.

Director David Sington blends the missions together starting with the selection of the men moving to the preparation for the launch. We find out from the men what riding a rocket is like. We learn the awe-inspiring experience of making it into space, seeing the Earth shrink behind them and the moon grow in front of them. We feel the rush of a successful landings and the anxiousness that one feels about the return home. On Apollo 11, President Nixon pre-recorded a message in case the moon lander wouldn’t take off, stranding Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren on the surface of the moon. There was pressure in being an astronaut before launch, but that status as a hero never left any of them for the rest of their lives. Armstrong declined to participate in the documentary, having always been uneasy with his historical status.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to be the first test pilots called in to hear President Kennedy’s plan to get to the moon before the end of the decade. At that time just getting test rockets off the ground without them exploding was hit or miss. But hot shot test pilots signed up in droves. The ones that made it were said to have the right stuff. Many of the men interviewed view themselves as lucky. Mike Collins, the command module pilot on Apollo 11, put it this way – he, Armstrong and Aldrin were all born in 1930, it took a whole lot of serendipity for them to be the ones that became the first humans to visit another world.

Some of the men were scared, thinking about everything that could go wrong and lead them to their deaths. Others relied on their training and felt no fear. There was nothing to be scared of unless something went wrong. For the Apollo 13 men, something did go wrong. Jim Lovell recalls that during the crisis all he could think about was getting back alive. Only until he was back on Earth safe did he begin to regret being cheated of his chance to step foot on the lunar surface.

The film features NASA footage that had never been seen before the film was released. The dramatic footage from the view of the rockets igniting speaks volumes about what these men risked and the truly rare experiences these men have in common. Only 24 men orbited the moon. Only 12 put permanent foot prints in the dust. They talk about how these experiences have made them reflect on life. The little things don’t seem to matter as much to them, especially when you’ve been able to look at the Earth and block it out with your thumb.