Film Journal 2023: A Million Miles Away

Film Journal 2023: A Million Miles Away
Directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella


One of the most remarkable things about this space odyssey, based on a true story, is that for as many miles as this travels it never strays far from the thing that really matters- home. There are so many points in this story where the filmmakers could have been tempted towards shifting the focus away from its central character and on to NASA or the expedition itself, in this case one that took a migrant farm worker to the space station. Instead, the film makes intentional choices to constantly redirect the forward movement back on to to the family, on to the humble life this aspiring astronaut has back home. The result is a final quarter that offers one of the most beautifully captured “journey to space” sequences I can recall. There is no nail biting drama. No harrowing moments. It is simply the power of a moment, a moment the film is content to sit and linger with. And for every time it seems like the film is going to lurch forward, the filmmakers draw us back instead.

It might be easy to jump to the conclusion that this is pure sentimentalism on display, but I would argue this is simply excellent filmmaking built on an allegiance to capturing a quiet simplicity. For me, looking in from the outside at a distinctly American story, it provided a stark contrast between two commonly associated aspects of the American dream. When I think about what that dream is in the American ethos, I either think about the narrative of progress that it tends to attach itself to, such as NASA, or about the land of opportunity, such as the immigrant farmer to astronaut motif. This is decidedly rooted in the latter. Even then, as someone who tends towards critique of that dream, what I found so refreshing about this take on such an idea is that it never seems to idealize the journey itself. The film serves as a reminder that such a journey is meaningless outside of the story (or stories) that surround it. And, in fact, the film seems to want us as viewers to know that such a life would be meaningful with or without the accomplishment of the dreamer. What the accomplishment provides is the sort of contrast that allows one to set things in perspective.

There is a moment in the film where the main character’s child asks why their father wants to go to space. This question is never actually answered verbally. Instead, the Director lets the journey itself answer the question for us. It’s a poignant way of showing rather than telling, which is precisely what makes the films choice to lean towards the intimacy of life on the ground so effective and inspiring. It’s worth noting here too that none of this would prove successful without some great casting. The chemistry here is as real as it gets.