by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

Here are two recommended feature films from this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival. Find showtimes and tickets here.

Retrograde (dir. Matthew Heinman)

The goals of Retrograde seem two-fold: first, to show the relationship between the US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan as of 2021, and two, to show the immediate aftermath of the US withdrawal. Ultimately, there it succeeds at both, but the first is more revealing. The camaraderie between the Green Berets and the Afghan Major General Sami Sadat as well as the men under his command is touching, especially as the Americans deliver the news of our exit. Seeing not just papers and computers, but perfectly good ammunition destroyed and not handed over to the country’s military is damning, underscoring how much of a waste our 20 year attempted occupation of the country has been. It’s nothing compared to the lives lost, but it’s a perfect metaphor of everything that has been destroyed over the years. 

Another salient point in the film concerns the passage of time. There are soldiers on both sides that were in diapers on 9/11. There are members of the Taliban who joined because they had family killed by coalition forces when they were children a decade ago or more. A sense of shame pervades, and only grows as the documentary follows the slow retreat and exile of Sadat. Well worth watching for anyone looking to get a better view of America’s longest war.

Good Night Oppy (dir. Ryan White)

A triumph of the human, and robot, spirit! Launched in 2003, the Opportunity rover, along with her sister Spirit, were expected to complete a 90 day (or 90 sol, if you remember your Mars terminology from The Martian) mission, and instead outlasted that scope 55 times over. This documentary follows the earthbound rover crew from design to the final send off for the rover, told through a combination of interviews, archival footage, and lovingly rendered CGI Mars footage from Industrial Light & Magic. The enthusiasm of all of the scientists and engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is palpable, and seeing the team grow and change and age over 15 years is emotionally moving. 

Good Night Oppy lands more on the lighter side, making the case for science an emotional one. That isn’t an issue, but it means offering lots of explanations via simile from very smart people to describe the science they are doing — “it’s like hitting a golf ball from LAX and hitting the doorknob of Buckingham Palace!” — rather than harder science. In addition, there are some situations introduced, like issues with getting the parachutes and airbags working, that no details are provided on how those were resolved. We know they are because the rovers landed successfully, but a nod to the solutions would have made those diversions hang better with the rest of the movie. Of course a documentary like this should be aimed toward a general audience, going 10-15% deeper on some of the science and engineering would have added even more educational value. As is, this is an emotionally moving story of science success and a good reminder that we should always keep going.