The Astronaut Farmer (2006)

Director:

Michael Polish

Writers (WGA):

Mark Polish (written by) &
Michael Polish (written by)

Release Date:

23 February 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

If we don't have our dreams, we have nothing.

Plot:

A NASA astronaut (Thornton), forced to retire years earlier so he could save his family farm, has never give up his dream of space travel and looks to build his own rocket, despite the government's threats to stop him.

Plot Keywords:

Family | Father Son Relationship | Aeronautics | Horseshoes | Money Problems

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 28

3:00 PM

MAX

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Charles Farmer
Virginia Madsen	...	Audrey 'Audie' Farmer
Max Thieriot	...	Shepard Farmer
Jasper Polish	...	Stanley Farmer
Logan Polish	...	Sunshine Farmer
Bruce Dern	...	Hal
Mark Polish	...	FBI Agent Mathis
Jon Gries	...	FBI Agent Killbourne
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Kevin Munchak
Sal Lopez	...	Pepe Garcia
J.K. Simmons	...	Jacobson
Kiersten Warren	...	Phyllis
Rick Overton	...	Arnold 'Arnie' Millard
Richard Edson	...	Chopper Miller
Elise Eberle	...	Madison Roberts

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic material, peril and language.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | USA:PG | Finland:K-3 | Singapore:PG | Germany:6 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Dunkin' Donuts - 1085 S. Saint Francis Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Polish Brothers Construction

Trivia:

In the scene where Charles Farmer asks the employee of Dunkin Dounts for advertising on his rocket. The shot shows Farmer in front of a large glass window in front of a graveyard with a short chain link fence around it. The shot of the employee is the actual inside of the real Dunkin Donuts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. However the graveyard in the shot is a real graveyard with graves dating back to roughly 1910. The graveyard is actually behind the Dunkin Donuts.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The capsule is shown firing all three retro rockets at once. The actual retros fired in a sequence five seconds apart.

Quotes:

Audrey 'Audie' Farmer: I expect you home for dinner.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "HypaSpace: (#6.25)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Merry Go Fairground

An astonishing film, easily one of the year's best

It's clear a lot of critics don't know what to make of this movie. It's best described as mostly a fantasy with naturalistic elements. The emotions are real, they are strong, and the film is always grounded in the earth. But you are never quite sure where it is going. It will veer into farce, then melodrama, then social commentary, and back again. It seems to be taking place in the present day, yet not quite: the sensibilities are from the 60s, the entrepreneurial we-can-do-it spirit from the 80s, and the despair from the 00s. It is strange, and it is dreamlike, and at times it seems to barely make sense, but it all works. The audience I was with was enthralled and almost all of them stayed through the end of the credits -- a good sign indeed.

I can imagine what the high-concept presentation must have been like: "It's just your typical save-the-farm family drama, only dad is a . . ."

"Don't tell me. A space alien," yawns the studio-head.

"Well, close, but not quite. He's a former astronaut who may be a nut case, we're never quite sure."

The studio-head is a little more interested. "And he;s planning to blow up the world?"

"No, though a lot of people think he is."

The head of the studio thinks about. "I think I like it. Throw in some cute kids and we've got ourselves a movie."

I'm being cynical, of course, and this is not a cynical movie. There is not a false note in it in fact, the music is perfect, the cinematography is first-rate, the casting is superb (watch for Bruce Dern looking very similar to Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies). While inspirational, follow your dream movies usually don't work for me, this one does, it has such an amazingly goofy charm that only the stiffest of film critics could resist it (and alas, according to that well-known movie review site, as I write this just under 40% don't get it.) If this movie in not on most 10-best lists at year-end, it is going to be one heck of a year.

I don't know if the film is going to do well. Early box office looks weak, but word- of-mouth may help. See it in a theater now if you are at all hesitant. This one will be remembered.

One final note: something like this story could actually happen in a generation or two, assuming humanity doesn't destroy itself. That spaceship-in-the-barn tale will make a great movie when it does. This story makes a great movie now.