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It’s one small step for men, one giant leap for mankind.
In 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon.
It was a monumental achievement not just for the United States,
but for the human race as a whole.
Never before had we ventured so far into the unknown,
never before had we set out to achieve something so daring.
If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything,
it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred.
Looking back on this great expedition into the darkness of outer space, it is tempting to romanticize it,
to reflect nostalgically on the era where looking up to the stars fueled a sense of excitement and optimism,
where heroic individuals worked together towards a single purpose.
The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not,
and it is one of the great adventures of all time.
And yet, to the disappointment of some viewers,
Damien Chazelle’s First Man presents a sobering look at this quintessential story of the 20th century.
Instead of an all-American hero, we see a more humanized portrait of Neil Armstrong
as a man who, while being a loving father and husband,
was a mostly serious and private man struggling with the loss of his daughter.
Anybody got a Swiss army knife? - Hold on, hold on a sec.
What'd you say? A Swiss army knife?
Instead of confident visionary technology, we see the trial and error,
the rattling of nuts and bolts in spacecrafts that feel as if they could fall apart at any moment.
Instead of unified idealism, we see a time of political turmoil in which NASA’s ambitions are questioned,
and its efforts are repeatedly undermined by the Soviet Union.
And instead of a mysterious universe that’s waiting for us to explore it,
the vastness of space is portrayed as dangerous, isolating and altogether uninviting.
However, I don’t think the purpose of this approach was to undermine our collective memory
or dismantle the mission’s legacy, but rather to strip it down to its essence,
to take an honest look at this turning point in our civilization,
and explore what it reveals about who we are as a species.
It’s a fresh start, it’ll be an adventure.
To approach these grand questions, First Man frames the struggle of mankind as a whole
through the journey of a single man.
For while the film covers many of the essential moments of the space race,
it really is the personal story of Neil Armstrong.
In the turbulent opening scene, we follow Neil into the upper layers of the stratosphere.
His plane is shaking violently until it finally reaches the quiet of open space
and we get a glimpse of the beauty and greatness it promises.
However, the serenity of the moment abruptly turns into one of horror
as Neil’s plane bounces off the atmosphere and threatens to cast him into the darkness for good.
He barely manages to make his way back to Earth.
But Besides serving as an exhilarating opening sequence,
this perilous first touch with outer space also sets up the main theme of the film
as it makes us aware of the potential cost of going to the moon.
This question of whether or not our striving for greatness is worth the risk
is a reoccurring theme in Chazelle’s films as both Whiplash and La La Land featured protagonists who,
like Neil Armstrong, were also struggling with two conflicting parts that exist within all of us.
On the one hand there is our desire for security and harmony;
this is the part of us that recognizes our limitations,
that wants to feel content with what we have and maintain some semblance of sanity.
I guess all I wanted was stability.
On the other hand there are our dreams and ambitions;
this is the part of us that wants to be more, that wants greatness, and is prepared to risk it all to achieve it.
The main question that follows these contradictions is how much of one we’re willing to sacrifice for the other,
or in this case; what price are we willing to pay to go to the moon?
Do you question whether the program is worth the cost? In money and in lives?
Throughout First Man, the Apollo program is repeatedly questioned for a variety of reasons.
There are serious doubts about its technological capabilities;
We've got this under control. - No, you don't.
You don't have anything under control!
About the socio-political benefits it would bring to our society;
I can’t pay no doctor’s bills, but whitey’s on the moon.
And about its general importance when weighed against the value of human life.
We need to fail down here so we don’t fail up there.
Okay Neil, Neil.
At what cost?
It’s a little bit late for that question isn’t it, sir?
These are all fair concerns,
just as they would be in any potentially dangerous struggle to achieve something.
In fact, when the film reaches its historical moment, they even seem well justified.
Because for what was supposed to be a great American victory in the Cold War,
and a new step in the progression of human rights and freedom,
the actual accomplishment of putting a man on the moon feels pretty anticlimactic.
We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won,
and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.
Again, I don’t believe it was Chazelle’s intention to throw cold water
on what to many is a treasured historical moment,
but rather to get to its essence and find what it really reveals about us;
because clearly, despite all these reservations, the price of going to the moon was one we were willing to pay,
and simply attributing it to stubbornness doesn’t quite satisfy as an explanation
for a collective effort of countless individuals spanning multiple years and costing billions of dollars.
So what then was the real significance of this daring mission?
What is the lesson that First Man wants us to take away from it?
If we turn our attention back the story of Neil Armstrong,
the film suggests there was a deeply personal reason for his determination to go to the moon.
As mentioned before, Neil was struggling with the loss of his daughter,
and it isn’t until he sets foot on the moon,
that he is able to acknowledge that grief, and let go.
I don't know what space exploration will uncover,
but I don't think it'll be exploration just for the sake of exploration.
I think it'll be more the fact that it allows us to see things.
That maybe we should have seen a long time ago.
But just haven't been able to until now.
By focusing on the journey of Neil Armstrong, and the meaning he found in going to the moon,
First Man illustrates a deeper driving force within us.
Because while the film gives us a specific reason for why Neil wanted to go to the moon,
what ultimately matters is simply that it had a great personal significance.
It was important in ways that could only really be understood by him, and him alone.
In that sense, it’s one of the oldest stories of humanity;
Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest,
was asked why did he want to climb it.
He said, "Because it is there."
The point is that there’s a part of us that’s not concerned with merely surviving,
but needs more to find fulfillment;
that needs to climb the mountains, cross the oceans, and touch the stars.
It’s a longing that transcends rationality, practicality, and even our sense of self-preservation.
First Man shows, without judgement or justification, how for some individuals,
this inner voice is so fierce that, for better or worse, they need to follow it,
because only then can they find peace, only then can they become whole.
It captures the intangible spirit that has come to define all the extraordinary human achievements of the past,
and will undoubtedly define those that are still to come.
For the fire that ignited Apollo is still burning,
continuing to drive our folly, our greatness.
Compelled by those vast stretches of the unknown, the unanswered, and the unfinished that are still out there,
calling out to us.
We choose to go to the moon.
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but because they are hard,
because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills,
because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept,
one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.
One interesting discussion that followed the release of First Man is how we should tell stories about our history,
and by extension, about ourselves.
It’s a complicated subject, but also one of the main reasons I love films;
they offer such a variety of perspectives, and to explore these, I’m really glad I have MUBI.
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