Based on a true story, A Million Miles Away depicts the life of a man who risked everything to pursue his lifelong dream of traveling to space. Imagine a young boy of a migrant family, working the fields of Mexico and being so inspired by the moon landing in 1969 that he dreams of becoming an astronaut. With wholesome story-telling methods, this film is fun for the whole family. It’s a story about shooting for the stars, even if you don’t quite reach it.
How does A Million Miles Away end?
The film starts with Hernández’s family leaving Mexico and coming to America to work and hopefully make a better life for their children. We watch as young Hernández works from the early hours of the morning, attends school, and grows up looking up at the stars.
José applied to the space program 11 times before being accepted, and the film centers almost exclusively on this plight. Roughly in the middle of the film, José is accepted and begins his training to be an astronaut – these scenes are fascinating and intense to watch. Here, the story is driven away from character and relationship building and onto the question, will he actually make it into space?
Roughly thirty minutes from the end, a space shuttle crashes, killing many of José’s friends. He is then offered to finally go into space. He snaps at the opportunity, saying he’s been waiting thirty years for this. After a successful launch, we watch José in the space shuttle.
The film then uses real footage of José Hernández from the original mission, short clips mixed with statements coming across the screen such as “he was the first migrant worker to go to space” and “he still picks with his father” and that he and his wife a building a house to retire in one day. There’s one clip of him spinning around the spacecraft, and this is a funny, heartwarming way to end the film.
A Million Miles Away (Credit – Amazon Prime Video)
Is this a true story
The screenplay is based on Hernández’s memoir Reaching for the Stars: The Inspiring Story of a Migrant Farmworker Turned Astronaut. Jose M. Hernandez was born in Mexico, and while working in the fields, he co-developed the first digital mammography imaging system.
He persevered to become a crew member on the Space Shuttle mission STS-128. It’s a story of hard work, determination, and sacrifice.
Does José make it to space?
After finally being accepted into the space programme, José undergoes immense physical and psychological training. He’s light-years behind everyone else and has to push himself tremendously to keep up.
After a shocking crash, José is offered the chance to go into space. There’s an intense, emotional, and successful launch. José safely makes it to space. He spent 13 days in space in real life before returning safely to Earth and his family.
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