Apollo 13

Starring Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris
Directed by Ron Howard
Year: 1995
IMDB / Wikipedia

During the summer months you may have the opportunity to see a movie in the park. If it’s as good as this one, I suggest you do not pass up on the opportunity. 

Films like this tend to remind me that real life can be as dramatic as anything we can imagine. Watching this in the park amongst families with small children, I wondered how many of these kids will have their minds blown when their parents explain to them later that this actually happened. There were three astronauts on a “routine” mission to the moon and their capsule suffered a catastrophic explosive failure; then, the combined efforts of those three and hundreds of people back on Earth helped get them home safely. A truly remarkable story of the power of people in intense situations.

And it is the realism that makes this movie great. Much of the the dialogue of the astronauts in the capsule was taken verbatim from transcripts and recordings made during the flight though some of the sub-plots were embellished for dramatic effect. And the actors didn’t try and over-act in scenes, they let them manifest organically. The feeling of this film was almost that of a documentary at times but it was still a wonderful piece of historical drama. Yes, there’s the theme of human perseverance and teamwork but those seem like by-products in a film that focused on the events and the people rather than slipping on the historical rose-colored glasses and telling a syrupy-sweet story. This is how history should be captured on film.

Most Valuable Actor: This is a real head-scratcher because there are so many deserving candidates for this honor. The obvious choice of Tom Hanks would be good, Kevin Bacon is another fascinating choice, as is Ed Harris as the flight director Gene Krantz, and even Kathleen Quinlan as Marilyn Lovell but I think Gary Sinise as the left-out astronaut-turned idea-cog Ken Mattingly gets the nod here. Sinise is good at making sure his performance fits the role and not the other way around. His grounded portrayal of Mattingly was sincere and powerful without becoming a focal point or a burden on the movie. Truly a fine performance.

Trailer:

Amistad

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, and Djimon Hounsou
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Year: 1997
IMDB / Wikipedia

Films like this one conflict me. On the one hand, it’s a very important story and one of the truly defining moments of the abolitionist movement in the United States. It’s a story that is wrought with emotion, political intrigue, and the efforts of the few for the sake of the many put to the test by evil, greedy people. It’s a story that everyone should know and everyone should appreciate.

On the other hand, it’s a movie that seems to be crushed under the weight of it’s own gravitas.

Spielberg tries to paint a masterpiece using every color on the palate it seems and encourages every single actor to play up to the moment. Because of this, the portrayals of almost every character are over-the-top, unbalanced, and almost too black-and-white for an accurate historical drama. This is not to say that slavery is not a black-and-white issue (pardon the god-awful turn-of-phrase) but the politics surrounding it in America at the time of the story have many shades of gray that are glossed over for the sake of a polarizing drama.

But, more than that, Spielberg seems to want every emotion and every sense tingling during this film. There are times where even the score is so syrupy-sweet and so pronounced that the dialogue (heavy-handed as it is) gets lost in it.

The problem is that the story itself, the actual events that took place, don’t need any dramatic massage to make them more profound. The struggle of slaves to gain their freedom by overthrowing the slave ship (La Amistad) and then being brought to justice for that act of rebellion is one that boggles the modern mind but it actually happened. The debate as to whether these slaves were people or property was enough to get my blood boiling and that’s all it should take. I don’t need the likes of Matthew McConaughey destroying his office when a courtroom decision doesn’t go his way to grasp the gravity of it all. But, I guess I’m not everyone.

Casual movie-goers probably wouldn’t want to sit and watch this film recreationally. To be honest, I don’t see this film having too much value outside of a high school history classroom. If anything, this film brought the memory of the events of this landmark event back to the forefront of our minds and reminds us to not forget even the minor parts of the past.

Most Valuable Actor: Djimon Hounsou as slave-rebel leader Cinque was the only actor not chewing the scenery in this film. Though his character only speaks a handful of English words in the entire film, his portrayal is so moving and so touching you might think he was truly snatched from his home and sold into bondage.

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