Passage to Mars

If you're a space buff - as I am - this is for you! This doc is out of this world. Super loaded with hidden references and wrapped with pure beauty. Not sure NASA realized what the filmmakers did - I guess it was approved - but the film breaks out from the formatted genre and takes it to a new level: complex and emotional narration, dimensional layers, both in storytelling and visually (the back and forth between Earth and Mars are stunning and so smartly executed).

The director definitely pushed the envelop. To a point that it's hard to call it a documentary. It's a movie, tracking with an impossible true-life road trip - and it's the first movie of this kind I see.

Watched it twice to make up my mind. First I was just got caught up, blending in the Arctic and other crazy shots (spectacular). Then got deeper into the reflection. Powerful. This film stays with you like a great wine.

Passage to Mars is one of the best documentaries on space exploration matters I have seen in years. Actually, no... It's not a documentary. And here is why...

The film qualities are countless: astonishing cinematography, editing, scoring and innovative narration style (for a documentary, using the voice over as the expedition's leader diaries vs a usual "witness narrator", was a great path).

But beyond a cinematic successful enterprise - or, perhaps, because of it - the film manages to take you to other worlds.

Beyond the "road movie" - a NASA 2,000 mile - never before attempted sea ice crossing - this trek is a fable, almost an allegory, by the poetry blending with ethereal landscapes where our own thoughts get unleashed and free to reflect on our own existence and the very meaning of our destiny. Here, in space, or anywhere.

The way Passage to Mars ventures into unknown territories (the Arctic and Mars), it can barely be categorized in the documentary genre. Just call it a film, that's what it is. An artistic exploration of the unknown and of our deepest soul.

"Why do we Explore?", to quote the film, is what the film is about. And I loved it, beyond the spectacular and entertaining quality of the film. Makes your mind roving.

Passage to Mars is, to me, a Passage between Science (the NASA expedition) and Fiction (our destiny in space and on Mars). So, perhaps, this is the purest science fiction film you can find this month.

Surprisingly good. I'm not a fan of documentary genre, but this one is so different. It has guts, depth, vision. It's a journey, and they take you with them from start to finish, with fierce. Quinto is just great.He delivers a a fine, complex performance, reading the original log of the expedition leader. Making the narration quite different from the classic voice over films. This is one of the film's highlights. It creates a solid emotional bound with the viewer. He delivers a very subtle, low key and at times moving performance. We are so far from the Discovery Channel reality show crap when they give you those fake/staged human conflicts. Here it's all more real. As it must be on a NASA journey. Music is great and the Mars and Arctic landscapes are jaw-dropping. Compelling and very original in the directing. A must see!!

If you expect the discovery or Nat Geo type of format, this one will confuse you. It's a million light years away in spirit.

It's a tale turned to mystery and beauty, celebrating exploration. More poetic than scientific, the film explores more why we want to go to Mars than how (which has been explained over and over again in many other docs.)

The excitement here comes from the mind-blowing beauty of two worlds, and a tiny crew of humans trying to make a bridge between.

You will learn more about what makes us go out there than what's out there. Despite the lack of the usual human drama we expect to get in these real-life adventure docs, we feel close enough to the crew and confined with them to feel immersed and part of the crew.

What is most striking is the back and forth Arctic/Mars, a journey within the journey. I understand why this film is so praised by space community. As for me, the ethereal feel made it all. Fascinating.

Filmmakers and NASA explorers take us to the remote corners of Earth and Mars.

A Humvee, the Okarian, must cross 2,000 miles on frozen ocean to reach a NASA outpost where they train to explore the red planet!

It's real, I had no idea such a place even existed. so we're on a road trip. Dangerous, uncertain. The ship seems no match for the challenge, but the crew never gives up.

What got me here is the immersive poetry of the film, taking our mind to remote places of our imagination. This film is no so much about Mars than about ourselves and our vivid curiosity for the unknown. Stunning.