If all had gone to plan, that number would be higher. Unfortunately, Apollo 13, the third mission planned to land on the moon, was aborted two days into the mission, after an oxygen tank ruptured. Instead, the mission had a new objective: get the three astronauts home alive.

“Houston, we’ve had a problem”

The story of Apollo 13 is widely known, in large part due to it being dramatised in Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. Survival might not have any new revelations about the events, but it wisely focuses on Captain James “Jim” Lovell (played by Tom Hanks in the film) and his wife Marilyn. Comprised of archive footage, encompassing his family, the mission itself and at NASA, it gives a complete picture of the events of Apollo 13.

The focus on Lovell and his family proves to be the right decision, with everything going on, it’s sometimes easy to forget that three people are stranded and that there is a very real possibility that none of them make it home. Lovell himself is the most fleshed-out character, with a brief introduction reminding us how close he was to being first on the Moon. His narration looking back at key points is very insightful.

“We’ve had our crisis”

Of course, being archive footage, there isn’t quite a cohesive look to the film with various cameras and people behind them. The filmmakers have done an excellent job of finding and piecing together all the different strands, and the narrative flows very well. Like the mission itself, there are many moments of calm during the film. Perhaps the best of these occurs when the craft reaches the dark side of the moon, blocking out the sun. As we’re reminded “there isn’t really a night in space”, we are left with a stunning view of the stars.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Mission Control is rarely so calm, and delays in communication that last seconds feel like hours as they wait for the astronauts to respond. A few helpful reconstruction shots, help to fill in the gaps created by a lack of footage. In everyone’s defence, they clearly had other things on their mind than getting a cool shot of a warning light.

Poor Marilyn has had the worst ordeal by far. Stranded at home, she is unable to help her husband; instead, she just listens to every communication and waits. Her children also talk about their experience of this time, the agony of being unable to do anything to help and not knowing whether Jim will come home. These sequences are mostly made up of stills, with the occasional news report or home movie. The different sources almost give the three storylines their own visual style, making it easy to keep track of who is speaking, despite not being able to see them all the time

Verdict

Although the events of Apollo 13 have lived on, there is something about hearing the people involved in the moment that almost transports the viewer there. Lovell’s added narration is a nice touch and adds a sense of emotional weight and hindsight that enhances the experience. The points of view all help give a complete picture, and it’s an extraordinary tale of survival against impossible odds.

Rating: (4 / 5)

Apollo 13: Survival is available now on Netflix

Also Read: Space, Satire, and Society: Tracing the Trajectories of “Red Dwarf” and “Homeboys in Outer Space”

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