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MOVIE
REVIEW – OCTOBER SKY
Rating: PG
Year of release: 1999
Time Length: 108 minutes
Cast: Laaura Dern, Chris Cooper, Jake Gyllenhaal,
Chris Owen, William Lee Scott, Roy Lee, Chad Lindberg
October Sky is the true story of the childhood of
Homer Hickam, a retired NASA engineer and an author.
He has penned The Coalwood Way, Torpedo Junction and
Rocket Boys (which incidentally is what the movie October
Sky is based upon.)
The movie takes place in 1957 in the town of Coalwood,
Virginia. The Soviet satellite, Sputnik was just launched
and the 14-year old Homer (Jake Gyllenhaal) suddenly
fell in love with the idea of space travel after he
saw it cross the sky above his home. Unfortunately
his father, John Hickam (Chris Cooper) is the local
coal mine’s boss, and he expects his son to follow
in his footsteps.
Homer defies his father’s wishes and starts
building model rockets as a hobby. Unfortunately, his
first several rockets are busts – literally.
His first model rocket blows up his mother’s
freshly painted white picket fence. His next rockets
blow up as well. Some don’t take off at all and
simply explode on the launch pad. Others make it a
few feet in the air and then explode.
Homer and his friends were losing hope, but not interest.
With the support and interest of Miss Frieda Riley
(Laura Dern), his science teacher, he and his friends
continue to plod on their course. Miss Riley suggests
that the boys enter their project in the school science
fair.
Finally, Homer’s group manages to construct
a working rocket. It sails in the air and is found
several miles away after it lands. Homer and the boys
are elated, as is Miss Riley. Word gets around and
soon the whole town is entranced with the notion of
rockets and everyone shows up at the slag field to
see the launches – except his father.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Making difficult decisions, being
true to yourself, family relationships, physics, using
explosives, tolerance, taking risks.
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