Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Tense re-creation of history in gripping space survival doc.
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Apollo 13: Survival
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In 1970, NASA sent a new rocket into space with the mission of landing on the moon again, events at the heart of APOLLO 13: SURVIVAL. Using archival interviews and recordings from the mission itself, the documentary re-creates the harrowing days between liftoff and splashdown, when the spaceship malfunctioned and the astronauts and control center crew had to think fast to save the men on board. These included astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert. Meanwhile, back home, Marilyn Lovell and other wives and family members waited and prayed.
Is It Any Good?
Space buffs may not feel they learn a lot new from this documentary, but for the lay audience, there's plenty here to find enticing. Apollo 13: Survival combines "rare access" to recordings from the infamous 1970 mission and archival interviews with "reconstructive techniques" where visual coverage was limited. This means footage from inside the space capsule, with events narrated by the protagonists themselves. As the title alludes, it's a story of survival, and one that—however briefly—brought the world together.
The mix of audiovisual elements offers real insight into both the technicalities of what went wrong (and right) on that mission, as well as the human component: the crew's rising heartrates, control center jitters, the wives and children waiting and praying at home, newscasters moved to near tears, and crowds filling the streets to witness the landing. Witnesses offer a poetic view of Earth, seen tranquilly from space as a "grand oasis in the vastness of space," where countries take shape without boundaries, and where a peace unknown to actual inhabitants of the planet reigns.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the courage and teamwork the astronauts, their control center team, and their families demonstrated during the crisis depicted in Apollo 13: Survival. How would panicking have compromised the situation? When has being courageous or working in a team helped you in your own life?
Why explore space? Why have generations of space programs been so determined to explore the moon and other planets? What rationales does the documentary give?
The film offers some insights into American society of the late 1960s and early 1970s. What stood out to you? What were some events of those years mentioned in the film?
In the movie, a newscaster suggests the Apollo 13 crisis was a "parable for Earth": a spinning spaceship, all human astronauts on it, running out of oxygen and water but nowhere to go. Do you agree with this analogy? What is the environmental message here?
What questions were you left with after this documentary? Where could you find more information about Apollo 13 and other space missions before and after it?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: September 5, 2024
- Cast: Jim Lovell , Marilyn Lovell , Gene Kranz
- Director: Peter Middleton
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: STEM , History , Science and Nature , Space and Aliens
- Character Strengths: Courage , Teamwork
- Run time: 98 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: September 28, 2024
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