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THE DISH
In this bright comedy from Australia, The Dish is a real object, a humongous 1,000-ton radio telescope, one of the most powerful in the world, built somewhat incongruously on the edge of remote Parkes, New South Wales, in the middle of a sheep paddock. In 1969, the scientists who run it are involved in the Apollo 11 moon landing.
These are all the ingredients needed for one of the first movies built around that truly awesome event, which was among the 20th century’s most upbeat moments. The Dish belongs to the genre of films about quaint little towns that suddenly become important to strangers and big shots from the outside world. It’s culture clash in which the canny locals usually triumph.
It’s also about a memorable technical achievement. The space mission itself is peripheral. The Aussie team is backup for communication with the spacecraft when the earth’s axis spins to expose the southern hemisphere. But the understudies get the main role when the landing schedule is moved up and they’re responsible for transmitting live pictures of Neil Armstrong’s first “small step” on the moon.
The story is not the landing but getting the live images of the landing. Filmmaker Rob Sitch and crew make it suspenseful (we know Armstrong made it but we’re not sure about the Aussies) and on the edge of funny. (Among other glitches, they actually lose contact with the spacecraft just as the U.S. ambassador is arriving.) We realize how magical it was for the world to share this miracle of both science and the divine spark in the human spirit.
Familiar veteran Sam Neill is the cool leader of the team. Kevin Harrington and Tom Long are likable as his pressured young assistants. The Dish avoids some of the overkill of American films: There are no expensive action scenes, and the satire of the politicians and self-important is quietly good-natured; the film doesn’t overdo its fun with irony. Some excited vulgar language, but otherwise recommended for youth and adults.
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