Double Bill: She Should Have Gone to the Moon & Faceless reviews
Review by on 30 Sep 2008
Faceless was slightly long-winded for me but it is also innovative and unusal. Was worth seeing, just maybe a little shorter.
Faceless was slightly long-winded for me but it is also innovative and unusal. Was worth seeing, just maybe a little shorter.
Review by on 26 Sep 2008
It is easy to understand why Jerri Truhill inspired Ulrike Kubatta. The heroine of SHE SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE MOON is a pilot who started flying when women were expected to marry, have children, and entertain in the home. She was also one of the Mercury 12 – women secretly trained by NASA to go into space and then ‘forgotten’ by NASA for decades.
Jerri took her first trip in a plane at age four. Her delight at being airborne so charmed the pilot that she was invited into the cockpit. She decided on her vocation immediately and was clever in her pursuit: she did what was expected of her (marriage etc) and then pursued her dream. She got her licence and competed in trans continental air races and top secret government missions before being recruited by NASA.
Kubatta readily admits that she fosters a romantic vision of Jerri’s flying days. Interspersed with interview footage are stunning atmospheric shots of the director (in a replica of Jerri’s original stylish white ‘flight suit’) against white sands and blue sky or suspended in water. An effective interpretation of what it might have felt like to be Jerri in the 50s and 60s.
FACELESS is similarly about a woman pioneer, but in a futuristic setting. Tilda Swinton’s narration is atmospheric and knowing. CCTV footage informs every aspect of this intriguing film. To summarise the plot would make it sound obvious and even glib, but FACELESS is an intelligent meditation on our 21st century lives from an enlightening perspective.
Jennifer Oey, Festival Daily
It is easy to understand why Jerri Truhill inspired Ulrike Kubatta. The heroine of SHE SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE MOON is a pilot who started flying when women were expected to marry, have children, and entertain in the home. She was also one of the Mercury 12 – women secretly trained by NASA to go into space and then ‘forgotten’ by NASA for decades. Jerri took her first trip in a plane at age four. Her delight at being airborne so charmed the pilot that she was invited into the cockpit. She decided on her vocation immediately and was clever in her pursuit: she did what was expected of her (marriage etc) and then pursued her dream. She got her licence and competed in trans continental air races and top secret government missions before being recruited by NASA.
Kubatta readily admits that she fosters a romantic vision of Jerri’s flying days. Interspersed with interview footage are stunning atmospheric shots of the director (in a replica of Jerri’s original stylish white ‘flight suit’) against white sands and blue sky or suspended in water. An effective interpretation of what it might have felt like to be Jerri in the 50s and 60s.
FACELESS is similarly about a woman pioneer, but in a futuristic setting. Tilda Swinton’s narration is atmospheric and knowing. CCTV footage informs every aspect of this intriguing film. To summarise the plot would make it sound obvious and even glib, but FACELESS is an intelligent meditation on our 21st century lives from an enlightening perspective.
Jennifer Oey, Festival Daily
Review by on 25 Sep 2008
I will be forever grateful to Ulrike Kubatta for allowing me to discover "Jerri" Thruhill's inspired commitment to flying in this delightful 58 minutes of images and dialogue that stirred up various emotions and leave you wanting to know more about Jerri.
I will be forever grateful to Ulrike Kubatta for allowing me to discover "Jerri" Thruhill's inspired commitment to flying in this delightful 58 minutes of images and dialogue that stirred up various emotions and leave you wanting to know more about Jerri.
Film details
Double Bill: She Should Have Gone to the Moon & Faceless
DOCUMENTARIES
Director: Manu Luksch
Director: Ulrike Kubatta
Director: Ulrike Kubatta
UK/USA & UK/Austria, 2007.
108 mins. English.
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