If you know anything about me, you know that I freaking love space. Although, an alarming amount of space movies involve scary AF aliens that I am NOT HERE FOR. Instead, here are a few “safe” watches that celebrate reaching for the stars, and keeping it a nice, aspirational place to visit sometime.
Contact
Based on the book by renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan, this is perhaps the most realistic of “alien contact” movies with MATH forming the communication method of choice. Jodie Foster stars as Dr. Arroway, who discovers a signal – from the star system Vega – repeating a sequence of prime numbers. After breaking the “code”, they find instructions to build a complex spaceship/machine that has room for SINGLE PERSON to be transported to talk with these alien beings. Who will it be?!
Mercury 13
This must-watch documentary on Netflix showcases 13 women who underwent the same astronaut testing as their male counterparts (including John Glenn). Unsanctioned by the government, a rare, 50’s feminist doctor figures “Hey – maybe it’s a good idea to test women, too!” for these candidacy exercises. Spoiler alert: the women often outperformed their male counterparts at the same tests. Second spoiler alert: sexist BS messes it all up! It’s kind of like A League of Their Own – except instead of baseball players, they’re pilots! Plus, you get to catch-up with some of the remaining members of the Mercury 13 as elderly women, and you can really tell that they were ballers then and ballers now. Highly recommend!
First Man
This movie really went under-the-radar from the masses, but I really enjoyed it. Perhaps a bit understated, the movie focuses on Neil Armstrong’s story and how he became the “First Man” on the Moon, while battling great personal tragedy. Damien Chazelle (of La La Land fame) does a great job of making you feel like you’re “there” – whether it’s as the test pilot careening out of control in the upper atmosphere, flying the lunar lander, or stepping out onto the Moon for the first time. This movie really conveyed to me how much humankind was really just “winging it” and had little-to-no idea how things were going to go. Worth watching for these immersive experiences!
October Sky
I’m not a huge Jake Gyllenahll fan, except for this movie. Based on a real life story, the movie follows Homer Hickman, who dreams of sending rockets to space. But, living in a small, coal mining community in West Virginia, this dream is seemingly out-of-reach. Inspired by a teacher (played perfectly by Laura Dern), he and his rag-tag group of friends band together to build a rocket and win the Science Fair – which could give them a scholarship and allow them leave their coal mining community in the dust. A+ for inspiration.
Apollo 13
I would be remiss if I did not include this classic. Buzz cuts abound in this movie that chronicles how the Apollo 13 crew were brought back to Earth after suffering a blown oxygen tank early on in the mission. Truly a celebration of human ingenuity and persistence. Plus, Tom Hanks! SOLD.
What are some of your favourite inspiring space movies?
