In the Shadow of the Moon

Director: David Sington
(2007)

This critically acclaimed, British-made film does a great job recounting the inspired Apollo missions in en engaging way. The spirit of the film is captured by three sentences that appear on screen within the first five minutes of the film:

Between 1968 and 1972, nine American spacecraft voyaged to the moon. The men on board are the only human beings to have visited another world. In their words, this is the story of the men who went to the Moon.

This is the stuff of science fiction...

The three crew members of Apollo 8 were
the first humans to witness the "Earthrise"

Astronaut Charlie Duke offered some of my favorite lines in the film: "I found out from the flight surgeon later on that my heartbeat was 144 at liftoff. John (Young)'s was 70." He later pointed out that during reentry into the earth's atmosphere, his spaceship was moving at 39,000 feet per second, which translates to over 26,000 miles an hour (faster than a rifle bullet).

The film was successful in putting the Apollo missions in a cultural framework. Seeing the inspiring speech by President Kennedy, hearing the velvety voice of Walter Cronkite, and getting into the mindset of the illustrious decade really made me wish that I had experienced these events as they occured in the 1960s, and I would imagine anyone who was lucky enough to live through the decade would appreciate the nostalgia. It also made me wonder why no human has been back to the moon (let alone Mars, or beyond...) since 1972.



official film site

Trivial Tidbits:

• The only footprints on the surface of the moon were made by 12 American men
• Buzz "prima donna" Aldrin was the only astronaut in the film who demanded to be paid

20 Seconds of Joy

Director: Jens Hoffmann

(2007)

Karina Hollekim is a young Norwegian woman who was born with a love for the most dangerous sport in the world: BASE jumping. 20 Seconds of Joy is a depiction of five years in the life of this extreme athlete.

BASE jumping guru Jeb Corliss recalls an early conversation he had with Karina where he bluntly warned her that if she partook in the sport long enough, she would die. But the veteran also recalls looking into Karina’s eyes and not sensing an ounce of fear, even in her earliest jumps. It was as though she thrived in those seconds when most people would be paralyzed with terror.

The shots of Norwegian Fjords and various mountains are stunning in and of themselves. To see Hollekim and others diving into oblivion with nothing more than a small parachute on their backs is astounding. Jumps are made across the world from the Perrine Bridge (Idaho, US) to the Gorges du Verdon (France).

The film builds on these powerful visuals by delving into the psychological motivations of thrill seekers. The blast of adrenaline from BASE jumping is unparalleled, and it is what drives jumpers to take these ultimate risks. The rush is likened to a drug, and for Hollekim, the addiction is strong.

*SPOILER ALERT* As the film progressed, it became more and more apparent that Hollekim was not going to make the conscious decision to stop jumping. This story would not end with her deciding to pack away her parachute and take up some other hobby. It could only end in one of two ways, and I was relieved to find that it concluded with the “happy” ending: (severe) injury.

Perhaps a result of the succinctness of the radical acts, (as Hollekim herself so eloquently referred to as "20 seconds of joy") the film clocks in at a crisp but fitting 60 minutes.

20 Seconds of Joy won Best Film on Mountain Sports as well as The People’s Choice Award at the 2007 Banff Mountain Film Festival in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

official film site

Trivial Tidbits:

• B.A.S.E. an acronym for the stages from which one jumps: Buildings, Antennas, Spans, and Earth
• The I. B. Perrine Bridge (Twin Falls, Idaho) is the only man-made structure in the U.S. where BASE jumping is legal year round sans permit