The Farthest (2018)

Instant Favorite.

An action-packed slog

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This documentary tells the decades of discoveries led by a group of scientists and the two Voyager probes.The images are beautiful and literally out of this world. It is great to see so many interviews of scientists who were involved in the process. There is a lot of inside information, such as the opposition to taking a final photo of the solar system at the end of the mission. I got moved to tears many tints, because this mission is beyond humanity, beyond space and beyond time.

The Voyager mission is one of the most interesting in of all NASA. Two spacecraft which have been functioning since their launch in 1977, the year I was born, are still sending data as they race outside of the Solar System. This film is telling the story of the mission and the people that worked in it and how important this mission was for the knowledge and identity of our species. The quote that stuck in my mind was "We've gotten away with it!", said by one scientist as he described his enthusiasm of the launch. I mean, here are these super smart people, planning ahead for decades one of the first and few real spacecrafts we humans have ever built, and what they feel is that they slipped it under the nose of their government and nation and species. I loved every one of the scientists that contributed to the show, their youthful enthusiasm so contrasting with their advanced ages, revealing the light in their hearts.The film was a bit too long, at two hours, and maybe it would have been more powerful as a mini-series instead. It goes through the excitement when it first reaches Jupiter, then Saturn, then the bitter sweet moment when Voyager 2 reaches Uranus at the same time that Challenger explodes and finally Neptune. Another quote was about how small color dots from the Earth telescopes turn into worlds when Voyager goes past the planets.I love all of these documentaries, which show who worked passionately to make things like these happen, to truly further humanity against all odds and against its mostly indifferent members, shows that really show the worlds around us and expand our horizons. If you love space, you should see this.

We like to think we mean something here on our silly little planet. We inflate our importance with society, religion and politics looking down on some here and sucking up to others there. One day our Sun will explode or we will get hit buy a big rock or we will poison our atmosphere or blow ourselves to oblivion. And once we are gone the Universe won't care a damn. But 2 tiny little specks floating on the Galactic winds may well get the opportunity to tell whoever is out there that we once dreamed large and maybe were worthy of note.This utterly amazing 2 hours tells the story of Voyager. Two probes sent out to photograph and scan the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and then carry on into whatever out there actually is. Voyager#1 and Voyager#2 and their little gold records may well be all that remains of our hubris of being chosen by gods for some great destiny.An incredible story of absolutely incredible people who started this dream in 1972 under Nixon and were able to see their creation, Voyager#1, become the first man made object to leave our Solar System in 2012. Voyager #2 will follow in the next few years. Luckily we had someone who had integrity and was articulate and intelligent to deliver the news in President Obama. Imagine the current infestation of that office being tasked with announcing this great achievement today. Me neither!As Voyager#1 was leaving the orbit of Neptune someone had the most incredible idea of turning it around and photographing the Solar System from nearly 11 Billion Miles from the Sun. It nearly never happened as there was no science in doing such a thing. Thankfully one of the greatest human beings we have ever had Carl Sagan managed to talk them around into taking what is without doubt the most incredible photo ever taken. I am glad he lived to see that as his Cosmos series was one of TV greatest ever. Worth seeing. Check it out.

I was privileged to see this amazing documentary as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival in Christchurch, NZ. If you are enraptured by astronomy, physics, drama, tragedy, philosophy of science, or just amazing stories, don't miss this documentary. And if you're not, still see it and be prepared to change your mind. The documentary traces the whole story of the two Voyager missions to the outer planets of the solar system (and now beyond), from its earliest planning stages through to lift off and then all the incredible and unexpected discoveries since. The audience clapped loudly at the end of the showing, and deservedly so. Three cheers for the romance of science!