This is a lovely, warm and delightful movie based on the role of the Parkes Radio Telescope, aka "The Dish", in the televising of the 1969 Apollo 11 moonwalk. What makes the film so wonderful is the cast and the way they interact during both good times and when in crisis. Led by the wonderful New Zealander Sam Neill and supported by a great cast of Australian actors and American Patrick Warburton as NASA's representative in Parkes, the chemistry is just right. Enough warm, personal touches are included so that we feel as if we are there with them and I found myself rooting for Parkes and the crew of this large radio telescope located in a rural sheep paddock in the small town of Parkes, just outside of Sydney. Spoiler alert: I am an American scientist and astronomy buff who remembers vividly watching the moonwalk with awe while I was still in undergraduate studies at Penn State University, but until I saw this movie I never knew that the first moonwalk photos were indeed sent from Parkes and not from Goldstone, California. Not only that, I had no idea that the Australian crew together with their one NASA representative had to overcome gusts of gale force wind which were over 65 MPH during the moonwalk and which nearly cost the world the great privilege of seeing Armstrong and Aldrin first set their feet on the lunar surface because the dish was shaking so badly. I was very, very impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm of the Parkes team for their role in this worldwide team effort and in their refusal to give up and take the safe way out and not move the dish in the wicked wind. This movie also has wonderful moments of small town pride that hits this Australian town as their roll in the Apollo 11 mission grows larger and larger, and in the coming together of the town, the various dignitaries and especially with the dish crew during a disastrous power failure that they decided to hide from NASA, even though the NASA representative tells them that it is OK to tell Houston about it. Their pride is at stake, and they are determined to solved the problem themselves, and the crew really gels as the American representative takes their side and helps them in all sorts of ways, some very humorous, to reacquire the signal from Apollo 11 which was lost when the power failure knocked out their computers. One of the funniest deals with faking their way through a visit to the dish from the US Ambassador, who wants to hear Armstrong talking with Houston. How they solve that little problem and still keep their situation a secret is a wonderful and lovely moment about international teamwork. This is a wonderful Australian film that Americans will also enjoy as we all root for the 4 men inside the Parkes Radio Telescope as they televise one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century to over 600 million human beings all over the world while still retaining a small-town feeling. I highly recommend this movie to all who enjoy NASA true stories, to those who love Australian film, to all fans of Sam Neill and the other wonderful cast members in this film, and to anyone who would like to see a family film with a happy ending that will make you cheer and cry with joy. Kudos to everyone involved!
