The World of Movies: Apogee of Fear
Written by Rachael Crawley
The World of Movies (The Galaxy of Movies?) is a series that explores global cinema, drawing on films from many countries, industries and eras. This week, we BLAST OFF!
Apogee of Fear.
Choosing the right movie can take a lot of work some weeks – balancing out the regions and eras, checking for an accessible copy, searching for that little “quirk” that makes a movie stand out. Some weeks, though, an idea pops into my head and that’s it. This week, walking home from the grocery store, it occurred to me: “Has a movie ever been made in space?”
In retrospect, there was nowhere else we could go after our ranking column last week. We have visited all seven continents, including Antarctica, so all that’s left are the sea and the skies. Enter Apogee of Fear (Richard Garriott, 2012). It is the first narrative film made entirely in space, based on elements from fantasy novelist Tracy Hickman. (At least one other project, the Soviet film Return from Orbit, had scenes filmed in space, to say nothing of the numerous documentaries, news clips, and even a music video.)
Apogee had to be filmed carefully around the crew’s work schedules. It was filmed in one take, no rehearsal. As the title card states, “It took about as long to shoot as it is to see.” On its release, it was subject to lengthy negotiations with NASA. While this film is technically credited to the United States – come on, am I really going to turn down a chance to add “space” to our list of places?
Apogee of Fear.
At only eight minutes long, Apogee is the shortest film this column has looked at. Garriott has recently departed the station, to the relief of his colleagues. They discuss his various attributes, including an unhealthy obsession with computer games (Garriott’s real-life career). The rest of the film consists of the astronauts (all playing themselves) reminiscing, having pointless back-and-forth arguments, and my favourite, attempting to juggle. But wait a minute, is that an alien menacing the ship?
So yeah, this movie is fun, mostly for the novelty. It’s short and sweet, and it’s cool to watch the actors bob along in zero gravity. This rare glimpse into ordinary life on a space station is definitely interesting. The “international collaboration” aspect is pretty heartwarming, too. The crew are clearly not actors, but they are having a great time. It can be a little hard to discern the dialogue. I’m not sure I can describe it as “low budget”, considering the setting, but its production values are understandably basic. Keep an eye out for references to several prominent sci-fi movies. When a cast and crew noticeably enjoy making a movie, I tend to enjoy it too.
While the expense is exorbitant, some filmmakers are already looking to space for future ideas, notably a project in development with Tom Cruise and Elon Musk. Several articles I found claimed that it will be the first movie filmed in space – but we know better. Apogee of Fear is a quick glimpse of astronauts having fun. It is pretty much a few jokes strung together, but it offers quite an unusual perspective. If you have eight minutes to spare, it’s definitely worth it, if only to look into a different world.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.