COMPLETING A MISSION

The physical reality of “Apollo 13” mission is that its crew doesn’t get to land on the moon. However, the cinematic adaptation, by Ron Howard, takes a further step that allows some resolution to Commander Jim Lovell’s personal quest. As the ship orbits the moon in a maneuver that will favor their return to Earth, astronauts Haise and Swigert contemplate the surface when they are close enough to get a good impression of its textures, also capturing Lovell’s attention. This observation is presented as a shot/reverse-shot where we either view the moon as seen up and close from the window, or the astronauts’ reactions looking at it. 

In the last of these interactions, Lovell comes closer to the foreground, while the following shot, almost mimicking his forward movement, pushes in to the ship’s window until Lovell enters the shot and both elements (character and desired place) are in frame. What follows is a frontal close shot of Lovell from outside the ship, with the moon’s reflection on the window. The effect of this, while stating the separation between the two by the glass, also results in a blend of both fields, highlighting the connection. This emphasizes Lovell’s attention, reinforced by the shift in focus from him to the lunar surface in the last part of the shot. He is sees the moon like the moon sees him. An elaboration of this idea follows: in what seems to be a replay or re-representation of the first Apollo landing, a close-up on the astronaut helmet reveals it’s Lovell standing on the moon now, following in the steps of his voyaging predecessors. 

Scored with a soft but heroic trumpet theme from James Horner, Lovell gets to descend from the ladder, admire the landscape, walk and leave his own footprint, put his hands on the surface in an extreme close-up, and finally contemplate planet Earth. Once this spiritual experience has transpired on him, a final close-up on the blue marble, along with a radio transmission, connects Lovell to the reality of the mission and brings him back home.

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