Good Night Oppy

A super-duper sappy and sentimental documentary about a robot. But it really works. The strong attachment to the Mars Rover by the JPL crew is genuine, and their hard work and awe of their success, building a space robot that was meant to last 90 days and lasted 14 years, often brings the interviewees to tears. Their love of science and space is awe-inspiring. It’s a very human movie, but it’s molded into a Spielbergian emotional odyssey by the filmmakers, especially the composer Blake Neely. Much of this is bittersweet, though. Because although it demonstrates what smart people can do if they work together, it’s also an indictment of our recent anti-science political leaders and the irreversible damage they’ve caused to human progress.