‘Starman’ Review: An Outer Space Documentary That’s Out of This World

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As a young child of four, my parents introduced me to a planetarium for the first time, an enormous one nestled in the heart of Chicago. It seemed as if it mirrored the infinite expanse of space. Throughout my life, I’ve visited numerous other planetariums, but nothing could ever compare to that initial experience. Gazing up at the vast, dark ceiling adorned with twinkling stars and planets, I believed they were tangible entities. I felt a profound connection to them, as if I was one with them, captivated, engulfed, and utterly amazed.

As a movie enthusiast, I was utterly captivated by “Starman.” This documentary on space exploration stirs something deep within, reminiscent of that wide-eyed wonder you felt as a child gazing at the stars. It’s like an intergalactic journey for your mind, a transcendental experience that leaves you spellbound.

Robert Stone, the mastermind behind this cosmic marvel, crafted what I believe to be the most exceptional documentary about the American space program – “Chasing the Moon,” aired on PBS in 2019. This film delicately unraveled the story of NASA’s creation, its purpose, and how it wasn’t destined but built by human hands. In many ways, “Starman” could be seen as its radiant successor.

As a director, Robert Stone taps into the raw power of space to ignite our dreams. He rekindles our connection to the essence of marvel, that feeling of being utterly amazed, filled with a kind of burning curiosity. “Starman” strips away our jaded perspective to fill us with the same awe we felt when space exploration was truly extraordinary.

1969 marked a momentous occasion when humanity’s connection with the cosmos shifted unexpectedly for me. The iconic image, titled “Earthrise,” captured by the Apollo 8 astronauts on Christmas Eve of ’68, presented our Earth as a radiant half-orb floating above the lunar edge. This snapshot, now recognized for sparking humanity’s environmental awakening, served as a stark reminder of our planet’s small and potentially fragile stature in the universe. By the time Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon, we were primed to be astonished by the fresh perspective it provided. We had achieved something extraordinary – we had set foot on the moon. But amid all that wonder, it was, in essence, just a stone – a colossal, gray expanse of dust and debris.

As a passionate cinephile, once we witnessed the lunar landing, there was simply nowhere else to explore. It felt like America, in the aftermath, experienced an epic space hangover – a sense of disappointment and anticlimax. We all seemed to understand that nothing in the future could ever surpass the grandeur of that moment.

Or, more casually:

After seeing man on the moon, I couldn’t help but feel like we’d hit the peak of exploration. It was as if America had a massive space hangover – a letdown that nothing would ever top it again. We all seemed to sense this, in the pit of our stomachs.

Starman” brings back the initial cosmic awe and curiosity, questioning how such enchantment could have faded. The film, brimming with remarkable visuals, takes us back to the time when space travel held a profound, spiritual significance. It suggests that our longing to discover alien worlds and uncover life there, satisfied an innate religious yearning within us. Yet, it seems we’ve collectively lost sight of this.

The heart of “Starman” revolves around Gentry Lee, who serves as both narrator, guide through the cosmos, and main focus of the film. As a renowned NASA engineer and successful science-fiction writer, Lee was instrumental in mission planning for the Viking expeditions to Mars and served as the chief engineer on the Galileo mission (which delved into Jupiter and its moons). Throughout the movie, he addresses us directly, much like Errol Morris might. Slim yet tempestuous, with a prodigious scientific mind coupled with an unbridled childlike enthusiasm at 82 years old, Lee’s wide-eyed demeanor gives off a unique blend of the Starchild and J.K. Simmons. He is the titular starman, a devout believer in extraterrestrial life then and now, and his bubbly, loquacious, and excited personality is infectious. He’s captivated by the prospect of other worlds, a feeling he manages to spread.

In the 1970s, following mankind’s achievement of moon landing, there was a significant surge of interest in exploring Mars, a celestial body that had long fueled our dreams and apprehensions about extraterrestrial life. We witness snippets of authors like Arthur C. Clarke and Carl Sagan (whose fame partly stemmed from their otherworldly demeanor) hinting at the possibility of extraterrestrial life as a tangible reality. “Starman,” which rekindles the enthusiasm of that era, takes us back to the dream of inhabited planets, questioning the authenticity of this aspiration. The film proposes an intriguing theory, symbolized by hundreds of light bulbs arranged on a hard surface, suggesting that given the vastness of the universe estimated to contain trillions of planets, it’s highly probable that some evolved like Earth. However, it also suggests that advanced civilizations might have a tendency towards self-destruction, thus diminishing the likelihood of multiple intelligent life forms coexisting at once.

Mars, adorned with what appear to be canals, was once thought to harbor water, but upon closer examination by robotic cameras, it turned out to be as desolate as the moon. However, let’s consider the other planets. The movie features a wealth of photographs and video footage from NASA teams of the ’70s and ’80s, with Gentry Lee, who sported an unusual long-haired combover, serving as the focal point. As these scientist-explorers ventured forth, they guided us towards worlds of immense grandeur compared to Mars. The movie reaches its climax when it shows images taken by Galileo, revealing Saturn and Jupiter in all their splendor. You might be left breathless by the sight of Jupiter’s ever-changing rainbow exterior, which seems almost too beautiful to have been created naturally. Its moons are even more enigmatic; Europa’s entire surface is a shell of ice, concealing oceans of water beneath. Where there is water, there could be life.

This version attempts to simplify the language and make it easier to read while maintaining the original meaning and style.

The movie explores our century-long yearning and apprehension about extraterrestrial life through a subtle nod to how deeply rooted this quest, which can be seen as a religious pursuit, is in fantasies. Could the wave of alien abduction narratives popularized in the 80s have been a collective imagination? The fact that those who shared these tales, starting with Barney and Betty Hill in 1961, clearly believed them gives us insights into the imaginary realms people carry within themselves. “Starman” delves into our craving for extraterrestrial disclosure while also reminding us of its proper context, as the specter of climate change echoes a cosmic alarm. Ultimately, the movie suggests that the paradise we yearn to find is right here, if only we could open our eyes to it. As Lee says at the end, “We live in paradise.” And like outer space, paradise is a realm of dreams.

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2025-03-09 04:17