Review: “A Million Miles Away”

“Who better to leave this planet and dive into the unknown than a migrant farm worker?” That’s how Jose Hernandez challenged the nabobs of NASA in the new movie, “a Million Miles Away,” about his unlikely journey from crop worker in California to astronaut.

It’s a true and inspiring story, to be sure, a moving account of an individual who pushed on, overcoming many obstacles. As another astronaut says to him in the film, “Tenacity is a superpower.”

But another reason to watch it is to see how others provided crucial support along this difficult way. Teachers recognized Jose’s talents and supported his ambitions.   His parents sacrificed their dream of building a house in Mexico so they could devote what little they had to their child’s education. His mother was a model for his tenacity: she went back to school to become a social worker.

Viewers may have many questions the film doesn’t answer. How did Hernandez reconcile his father’s “five-ingredient recipe” for achievement with the poverty around them that limited the prospects of many other kids, like his beloved cousin? How did he deal with the discrimination he faced at school? What were the costs of his dream to his family life?

“This may not be your future, but it will always be your past,” a colleague reminds him in the film. And in real life also, Jose Hernandez respects his time in the fields.“It gave me the work ethic, the determination and to not be afraid to work hard,” he says. He hopes the film will tell young people that they can realize their dreams.