The Dish

Released 2000
Stars Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, Patrick Warburton, Genevieve Mooy, Tayler Kane, Bille Brown, Roy Billing, Eliza Szonert, John McMartin
Directed by Rob Sitch

It's a genuine pleasure to see a feel-good movie like The Dish, a semi-factual look at the part played by a small town in Australia during the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. The Dish takes us back to the third week in July 1969, when (metaphorically speaking) all eyes were cast in the direction of our nearest celestial neighbor, where Neil Armstrong was about to take the most famous documented step in modern human history. July 20, 1969 was one of those rare days when most of humanity was focused on an event that had more to do with the triumph of the human spirit than with war, religion, or death.

With his quiet, unforced performance, Sam Neill towers over the production. His Cliff Buxton is a fully realized character - a man of great inner strength and integrity who occasionally shows a hint of sadness. American actor Patrick Warburton (who may be best known for a recurring role on the TV series "Seinfeld") is also a standout, managing to both embody and defy worldwide preconceptions about American arrogance.

Most movies made about the moon landing have a decidedly American viewpoint. The Dish is an exception, and its different vantage is one of its strongest assets. The film transpires in the rural Australian town of Parkes, where the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere is being "borrowed" by NASA to track Apollo 11 on its famous trip. Most exciting to the people of Parkes, the television images of the moonwalk are due to be broadcast using their dish. This is a source of tremendous civic pride, despite the fact that the Parkes radio telescope is located in the middle of a sheep paddock.

The Dish is a comedy with a heart - a rare thing in the movies these days. The film was directed by Rob Sitch, whose previous effort was the equally endearing The Castle. The Dish is based on a true story, but, as with most effective fictionalized historical events, Sitch elects to focus on the characters rather than on The Moment. The latter is there, but it means more because of who we're experiencing it with. For those who think motion pictures have become a largely joyless affair, The Dish provides a pleasant counter-example.

Summary by James Berardinelli http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/d/dish.html

"The Dish" is a light-hearted affair that's pretty entertaining. My only gripes were the sentimental soundtrack and the bookend scenes from the present day. Other than that, the characters are well realized and the story's a lot of fun. There's no mean-spirited comedy here, which is a nice change, and there are some great performances. Sam Neil is the obvious one, but Patrick Warburton (Putty from "Seinfeld") is brilliantly subtle in his role. Above, James Berardinelli pinpoints why his performance was so good.

How fun the moon walk must have been for scientists. It must have been a trip to have people all around the globe enthralled by what turned out to be the most amazing scientific achievement of the 20th century. Today, there are so many blockbuster achievements announced, we've become blasé about them. The moon walk was different, though. The USA and USSR had engaged in a decade-long space race, and this was the ultimate goal--to land a man on the moon. "The Dish" takes true-life events and molds them into a story that helps illustrate that two men walked on the moon that day, but it took thousands of people to get them there. It was a scientific team effort on a scale that has never been seen before and may never be seen again. --Bill Alward, September 10, 2001