Story: The moving journey of José Hernández, who rose from a menial farm worker to become an engineer and ultimately an astronaut at NASA, is the subject of this true-life drama.
The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin" cleverly switches from the original English to the Spanish versions at the beginning of the movie, setting the scene for the Hernández family's relocation. However, as the narrative progresses, this early spark disappears, leaving its potential unrealized. The movie A Million Miles Away tells the story of flight engineer José Hernández's resilience and tenacity on his path to becoming an astronaut at NASA after working in the farms of the little Mexican community of Michoacán. Although Hernández's life is accurately portrayed in the movie, the whole viewing experience falls flat. Hernandez was rejected by NASA 11 times before, but the movie missed opportunities to explore his unrelenting drive to join the elite organization. It only barely scrapes the surface, failing to effectively portray the enormous amount of sweat, toil, and hard work he expended, which isn't quite visible on the screen. The movie undoubtedly honors a fantastic narrative by exposing it, but the way that story is portrayed on film is a little puzzling.
The movie had some enjoyable parts. Hernández's interactions with his wife and family are skillfully performed, especially in the early scenes when his father is forced to switch farms in order to provide his family with a better income and a home. Apart from a few scenes where his teacher cheers him on or when he tries to explain the laser system to his boss, José Hernández's academic prowess could have been a major highlight of the movie. However, these scenes are few and far between. This topic may have received more attention and a more prominent role in the movie. The movie's tone is dependably safe and stays the same the entire time. Simply said, there aren't enough dramatic moments in the film's linear narrative.
José's 1960s voyage from Michoacán, Mexico, to California sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Due to the family's dire financial situation, his father is forced to look for better prospects in order to give the family a place to live. A teacher at his school notices his talent and advises the family to stay put rather than moving so José may attend a different school. He obtains employment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory after graduating from the University of the Pacific with a degree in engineering, where he experiences racism from his coworkers. He persists in applying to the NASA space program while working there, but he is consistently turned down. The most important thing that his wife then asks is: What do others at NASA have that he doesn't?
Although Michael Pea does a fantastic job portraying José Hernández on television, the poor writing detracts from his effort. Although it is clear that he is making an attempt, it still seems like he is tossing darts with no luck. Additionally, it's strange to see a Pea who is older than 45 portraying a college student. Rosa Salazar, who plays José's wife Adela, puts up a standout performance, nevertheless. Her character's growth is really believable; she goes from being a carefree, madly in love girl with Pea's character to eventually being a mother of three kids who is burdened with household chores, all the while continuing to support her husband in realizing his ambition. Her performance is outstanding in every way.
It is clear that the film's creators wanted to present him as a likeable and uncontentious man. After a while, though, this strategy fails and turns boring. You want him to succeed as a spectator, but there aren't any scenes in the movie where he's on the verge of losing and then pulls off an incredible comeback. Since it's a movie, some suspense and anxiety were expected, but sadly, these qualities aren't present in the movie. Given that they were both individuals of color who attained stratospheric achievement, the movie might have spent more time examining the relationship between Kalpana Chawla and José Hernández at NASA. This topic is just briefly mentioned in the movie, though. This biopic, which is based on José Hernández's autobiography,
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