‘Good Night Oppy’ Telluride Review: A Mission To Mars Becomes A Heartfelt Documentary From Amazon And Amblin

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No documentary has ever won the Oscar for Best Picture. In fact no documentary has ever been nominated. If ever there was an opportunity to change that statistic, at least in terms of a nomination it could be the remarkable, emotional, and uplifting Good Night Oppy which transcends the genre to become a richly rewarding cinematic experience, kind of a cross between Wall-E and The Martian.

this all actually happened, but it is quite unusual in that it is truly feel-good, and it has all been brought to new life in an irresitible new film that in a time of divisiveness and negativity will remind you of the very best of us.Debuting tonight at the Telluride Film Festival, this Amazon Studios and Amblin Entertainment production is the story of a fantastic voyage, that of two rovers sent to Mars on what was only expected to be a 90 day mission, because that is the usual life span of these rovers, but turned instead into a 15 year adventure, primarily because of the dogged determination and sheer will of a true survivor named Opportunity, a robot who performed wonders well past her expiration date and forged an unforgettable relationship with the humans who built her over several years, shot her and partner Spirit into space on a six month trip to the Red Planet, and in return created a bond that has to be seen to be believed.Of course it was seen, not just by the scientists and engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the home base for the mission, but so many who followed the mission for a very long time as it went on from January of 2004 and lasted 14 1/2 years, improbable, magical, mind boggling, and beguiling.Using closets full of archival footage provided by NASA that had been locked away untouched, plus state-of-the-art