The Dish

TIFF [2000]

Full size poster

(AUSTRALIA, 2000)104 minutes
Cast: Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Patrick Warburton, Tom Long
Written by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch
Directed by Rob Sitch

The Story

As the world anxiously awaits Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong to make his famous moonwalk, a team of dedicated scientists in Parkes, Australia--led by Cliff Buxton--prepare their giant radio telescope as a back up should the dish in California fail.

The irritable Mitch takes an immediate dislike to Al Burnett of NASA, sent from America to oversee operations. Soon, Mitch loses the chip on his shoulder and realizes that Al's officious nature is in the service of the project, and learns that he even has a sense of humour. When a late schedule change from NASA shifts the responsibility to the stations in the southern hemisphere, the entire town (and country) is ecstatic. But soon the group must indulge in some panicky damage control after they accidentally lose Apollo's signal and brave a freak storm that could cost the entire planet coverage of this historic moment.

ROBERT L'S REVIEW

"It's science's turn to be daring", proclaims Sam Neill's Buxton, certainly the most heroic screen figure I can recall to sport Fred MacMurray's V-neck sweater and pipe...

I'm a sucker for anything about the space program, and this low-key charmer would've fit nicely as a chapter of HBO's "From The Earth To The Moon". But unlike the HBO miniseries, which many felt was too jingoistic, this film celebrates a uniquely AMERICAN achievement from a foreign point of view, acknowledging a significant Australian contribution that I'd never before encountered in the volumes written on the Apollo 11 moon landing. I often found "The Dish" trying a little TOO damned hard to be agreeable and whimsical, but the pull of the story and charm of the ensemble cast overcame my cynicism.

Talk Back

Still, let me say that "The Dish" IS shamelessly sappy and sentimental, following "inspirational" form with one-too-many overripe speeches and evoking its period via the lazy method of wall-to-wall pop tunes (would the mayor of Parkes really slow dance with his wife to Blood, Sweat, and Tears?). It's also one of those deliberately quirky "little films" where no one is just a supporting character, and some, like the wacky soldier boy with a thing for the mayor's comely daughter, grate on the nerves from the first frame of his appearance. Other bits make up for it, like when an amateur house band is asked to perform the American national anthem and instead breaks into the theme from "Hawaii 5-0".

Rob Sitch has crafted a sweet film that celebrates a working environment of mutual respect and a collective vision of something higher that penetrates borders. "It's science's turn to be daring", proclaims Sam Neill's Buxton, certainly the most heroic screen figure I can recall to sport Fred MacMurray's V-neck sweater and pipe. Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld's "Puddy") at first seems to be channeling Dan Aykroyd as the NASA big cheese Al Burnette, but soon, his Ugly American caricature softens and we become appreciative (as to the onscreen locals) of Burnette's stoic, professional purity. A third act flurry of keyboard punching and dish-teetering climaxes with actual footage of Armstrong's moon landing--ghostly, Expressionistic images that still hold the same power as they did nearly thirty years ago.

"The Dish" is set to screen at the London Film Festival in November.

- Robert L

Talk Back

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