A Million Miles Away is an inspiring biopic. This is the true story of José Moreno Hernández. He is the first indigenous Hispanic migrant to become a NASA astronaut in the USA.
It is a heartening and moving story about a young José, who worked as a migrant farm worker as a kid in California (USA), yet he dreams of becoming a cosmonaut. Supported by his family, he fulfils his childhood dream. As José’s amazing and encouraging life story shows, anything is possible if one is willing to dream and put in the necessary hard work to fulfil them. take This movie was released this week in the streaming services.
Synopsis (summary) of this 2023 inspiring Biopic film of an Astronaut
Inspired by the real-life story of NASA flight engineer José Hernández (Michael Peña), this film follows him on a decades-long journey, from a rural village in Michoacán, Mexico, to more than 200 miles above the Earth in the International Space Station. With the support of his family, José’s drive & determination culminate in the opportunity to achieve his seemingly impossible goal.
It is a biopic about Jose Hernandez (Michael Peña) and his path from a farm worker to becoming an engineer and an astronaut. It is a tale of perseverance, community and sacrifice to accomplish a seemingly impossible dream.
Spoilers Free review of A Million Miles Away (2023) Movie
The true story of José Moreno Hernández, the former NASA astronaut
This uplifting biopic movie is based on some of the real-life characters, who have inspired scores of people. In this film, we get to meet José Moreno Hernández (an American engineer and former NASA astronaut, who traces his home in La Piedad, Michoacán, he has indigenous Purépecha roots.
In addition, we also met, the late Kalpana Chawla – an American astronaut and aerospace engineer, who traces her roots in Karnal, India. When José was undergoing training at NASA Johnson Space Center, Texas, USA. their paths intersected. Both José and Kalpana are migrants and outsiders in American society, as defined by the so-called MAGA supporters of the USA.
A slice of life from migrants’ experiences
This film has a few quite funny and insightful scenes about the deeply engrained ideas of casual racism. Furthermore, it also depicts the stereotyping of Hispanic people migrating from Mexico and other Latin American nations to the USA. Despite, so many new opportunities available to these new migrants, they do not have an easy life.
“Do you know how important it is that someone like you or I jump on this ride? I, too, had to work so hard. Tenacity is a superpower.“
Kalpana Chawla (KC) said to José Hernandez in this film
So, as a senior colleague and experienced astronaut, Kalpana continued to talk, inspire, guide and motivate José while he was undergoing training at NASA. As the dialogues shared here from the said film show. The first dialogue by KC is shared above. Meanwhile, the second dialogue by KC is shared below, in the following paragraphs.
About the lead actor Michael Peña & other actors
The chemistry between the lead actor Michael Peña (protagonist José), his family members in this film – Rosa Salazar (his wife Adela), Julio Cedillo (his father Salvador), Verónica Falcón (his mother Julia), and Bobby Soto (his cousin Beto), is the highlight and offers us a chance to learn about the Indigenous social and cultural background of José.
Also his relations with NASA co-workers Sarayu Blue (senior colleague Kalpana Chawla) and Garret Dillahunt (senior colleague Sturckow), besides his school teacher Michelle Krusiec (Miss Young) are full of positivity.
All of these actors have done a good job of telling this exhilarating story about human values that we all treasure in our lives – love, family, friendship, relationships, sacrifices, dreams, hard work, never giving up, etc.
About its director Alejandra Márquez Abella, writers and the conclusion
Innovatively, its writers and director have used five real-life lessons (details shared in spoilers below) to narrate this stirring biopic showcasing the life journey undertaken by José in different years (1969, 1985, 1999, 2003 and 2008) in distinct decades to reach for the stars from the remote village in Mexico and the agricultural farmlands of California, USA.
To conclude, this biopic movie touches one’s heart for all kinds of good reasons. This positive movie even teaches us some important life lessons, which I have shared in the spoilers below. We loved this feel-good movie about the dreamers who go on to fulfil their dreams in life. This film is refreshing and revitalizing, indeed.
Ratings of this 2023 inspiring Biopic film of an Astronaut
| FM’s rating | 4.00/5 |
Spoilers Alert – about this 2023 inspiring Biopic film of an Astronaut
This movie is based on the book written by José M. Hernández
I have shared the links to the books penned by José M. Hernández about his journey from the farmland of California to becoming an astronaut and reaching for the stars. As per the post-credit details in this film, this film is based on the book – “Reaching for the Stars: The Inspiring Story of a Migrant Farmworker Turned Astronaut” by José M. Hernández.
On a side note, José M. Hernández became the first person to use the Spanish language in space while tweeting, while in orbit on his Space Shuttle Mission in 2009 for NASA.
The five (5) life lessons that the film uses to narrate the story of José M. Hernández
It seems that the Monarch Butterfly migration cases acted as inspiration for the life of José’s family. According to PBS, these butterflies are known for their incredible migratory pattern. They travel 1200 and 2800 miles or more to their overwintering spots in Mexico and Southern California from the northern United States and Canada.
These are the five (5) lessons to achieving lifelong goals that Jose’s father shared with him when he was a kid at an agriculture farm, struggling to do the tough and back-breaking manual job there.
1. Find Your Goal
1969 onwards: when José was still a school-going kid he shared his childhood dream with his teacher Miss Young. That dream of becoming an astronaut was his goal.
2. Know How Far You Are
1985 onwards: José after completing his engineering, started working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. But he was still far away from his goal.
3. Draw A Roadmap
1999 onwards: Tenacity is a superpower. José joins the prestigious NASA.
4. If You Don’t Know How, Learn
2003 onwards: José lost a friend KC and colleagues in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Still, José did not give up on his dream. He learned the new skill sets to get ahead in a race to become an astronaut.
5. When You Think You’ve made it, you probably have to work harder
2008 onwards: José became the first migrant farmworker to have travelled to space in 2009. His space shuttle mission STS 128 remained on board the international space station for 13 days.
According to the information shared in the post-credit of the film – José had tacos and listened to Jose Alfredo Jimenez’s “El Hijo del Pueblo” up there in space. still picks grapes with his father. Only this time, they own the vineyard. They make and sell their lines of wines, Tierra Luna Cellars. Adela and Jose are building a house and plan to retire there one day.
About migrants as the best suited for space travel and his childhood dream
José was dejected after getting rejected by NASA once again. That is when his cousin and childhood friend tried to cheer him up with a deep talk about the migrants as the best suited for space travel.
Beto: Yeah, what's the deal with space? José: I don't know. Maybe I just want to keep my hands off the ground. Beto: Tell me something. Who better than a migrant? Somebody that knows what it's like to dive into the unknown. Who better than that... to dare leave this planet, man? Be grateful.
In this incident, his childhood teacher of José, who was responsible for motivating him as a kid to follow his dream of becoming an astronaut, shows up to wish him luck before his journey into space.
Miss Young: Well, hello there, young man. José: (says in emotional voice) I don't know what to say. (smiles)... Miss Young: Nice to see you, Miss Young." I have been waiting for this moment for more than 30 years. And I have proof... (She unfolds and shows Jose, through the pre-launch quarantine glass partition, Jose's elementary school crayon drawing of himself standing in front of a launch pad spacecraft, from 30 years ago)... José: (as he lets out a long, deep breath) Ah. Thank you... You changed my life.
Key details of this 2023 inspiring Biopic film of an Astronaut
| Genre | Biography, Drama |
| Original languages | English (USA) & Spanish (Mexican) |
| Age-restrictions | PG |
| Released | September, 2023 |
| Duration | 2 hours 1 minute |
| Writers | Alejandra Márquez Abella, Bettina Gilois, Hernán Jiménez |
| Director | Alejandra Márquez Abella |
| Cast | Michael Peña, Rosa Salazar, Julio Cedillo, Verónica Falcón, Bobby Soto, Sarayu Blue, Garret Dillahunt, Michelle Krusiec, etc. |
| Network | Amazon Prime Videos |
Poster of this 2023 inspiring Biopic film of an Astronaut
Everything looks so pretty from up there (space). It’s as though the whole place is sacred. The atmosphere looks like ribbons of different colors hugging the Earth. And it looks so fragile. Such a small planet with so much going on. We think we control everything. Our lives, our dreams. We get exhausted. We make sacrifices. We think it’s about wanting it hard enough. But life is mysterious, you know? Here’s the thing, though. Once that ignition sequence starts, we only have each other. That matters. What you learned today matters.
Kalpana Chawla told José Hernandez in this film
Trailer of this 2023 inspiring Biopic film of an Astronaut
If you like movies with good human stories with a bit of Spanish touch, then go ahead and read our article about A Man Called Otto (2023) movie, too.
Featured and other images of A Million Miles Away (2023) film | Amazon Prime Video.