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The Dish
If you believe they put a man on the moon.
It was a small step for man, a giant leap for mankind, and it was seen by hundreds of millions of people at the time -- and by billions since. It was July 20, 1969, the day the moon was conquered, unresisting, by science... and we very nearly didn't get to watch it happen.
All because of a receiving dish in the Australian country town of Parkes... in the middle of a sheep paddock.
The Parkes dish, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, was responsible for keeping track of Apollo 11 when the US faced the dark side of the orbiting satellite, and it is a matter of historical record that a few... ah... technical difficulties plagued the endeavor.
The movie The Dish, a new offering from the team that brought the world the distinctive comedy stylings of The Castle, just fills in a few, not necessarily plausible, details.
It tells of Cliff, Glenn, Mitch and Al -- three Aussies and a Yank -- who run the dish during that most important of weeks, and who are given the task of bringing home the first TV images from outside Earth's atmosphere. And it tells of the trials and tribulations -- power outages, violent winds, extreme use of the word "mate" -- that almost brought them to their knees.
Of course, we know everything works out in the end. With the benefit of historical record, we know for damn sure that those first fateful footsteps are caught on tape, later to become one of the defining images of the twentieth century. But the story The Dish tells -- of how that happened and what it meant to those who achieved it -- is none the less charming for all that.
It's a very American story, but told in a very Australian way -- as evidenced by the copious amounts of tea drunk in its honor -- and its unashamed sentimentality through the skillful use of archival footage is actually quite moving... even for those of us who have always taken the moonwalk for granted, and sometimes find it hard to grasp what the big deal is.
But it was a big deal, and that is the single-most achievement of this film. That it can bring back the sense of wonder, the feeling of uncertainty and, yes, pride, that we humble beings of 80% water could accomplish such a feat, is a gift for which we should all be grateful. Even in this blase Star Wars-ian age, miracles can still occur... and that is one of them.
DROOL FACTOR: For some, Sam Neill does it all, for others Tom Long, who plays gawky and sweet science geek Glenn, holds appeal. But for the sane amongst us, you just can't go past Tayler Kane as Rudi... he's dreamy.
GROSS-OUT FACTOR: Nup.
STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Sure. There are chicks, and they're not especially weak or lame or anything. None of them are involved in the project -- 'cause this is based on a true story and it was the sixties -- but there are interesting wives, girlfriends, and would-be girlfriends aplenty. Except for that cliché anti-establishment black-wearing University student without a cause... she's just annoying.
-- Rachel Hyland
The Dish is currently playing in theatres across Australia, and will debut in the US sometime, no doubt.
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