- Actors: Zachary Quinto (narrator)
- Director: Jean-Christophe Jeauffre
- Film Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
- DVD Release Date: January 24, 2017
- Run Time: 103 minutes
Passage to Mars
is a documentary about a human mission to Mars, though it never leaves Earth to
accomplish this. Scientific advancements come in stages, and the early stages
of planning a trip to Mars include testing of the material in the safety of our
own atmosphere. In order to be sure a land rover created for travel on Mars
will be a suitable option for astronauts, first it is tested in the Arctic.
This film is about that journey, which only seems tied to space travel by the constant
reminders from voiceover and digital imagery of the Red Planet.
Although there is a definite
disconnect from the mission in the Arctic and its intended purpose, especially
when considering how different the elements are in each location, this is not
the only reason Passage to Mars is a
failed experiment. As a mission, there are enough problems to keep the
documentary engaging, but this also prevents them from being successful in
their task. But even harder for me to accept than the decision to make a movie
about failure was the filmmaking methods themselves.
The narration for Passage to Mars is taken from the actual
journals from the NASA Arctic expedition, written by the director, Pascal Lee.
Here’s where the film gets unnecessarily convoluted, because even though we see
the actual Lee in the footage of the journey, his journals are narrated by
actor Zachary Quinto. While I understand the expected appeal of having the
actor who plays Spock in the latest incarnation of the Star Trek franchise do the narration, it is unnecessarily confusing
to have a voice that does not match the face we see throughout the film. This
confusion seems a high price to pay just in order to claim a celebrity
narrator.
Beyond the confusion of the narration
and the oddly disjointed way the film jumps between CGI of Mars and documentary
footage of the Arctic mission, Passage to
Mars is quite simply not as exciting as the expedition first promises.
While there are many speedbumps along the way, the mission rarely feels as dangerous
or urgent as filmmaker Jean-Christophe Jeauffre seems to suggest. At the very
worst, when things go wrong they are forced to wait in the cold environment
until the problem can be solved, often within the comfort of the cutting-edge
vehicle they are testing. Even when the mission must be delayed repeatedly, the
decision is made without much urgency. And considering snow ends up the largest
adversary along the way, it seems uncertain whether this mission will actually
prove helpful on a planet covered in dust.
The DVD release of Passage to Mars includes over 90 minutes
of extra footage in the special features. Somehow this speaks to the lack of
focus of the documentary as much as it is an asset for consumers who are
interested in the subject matter. The extras often go into more details than
the film itself, with behind-the-scenes footage and a director’s commentary
among other inclusions.
Entertainment Value:
3.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4.5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 7/10
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