This epic tale of a small- town boy, who no one thought would ever make it, is a truly interesting story about a boy who built rockets in his basement with his friends in order to prove to the town of Coalwood and especially to his father, that anyone could make it, and all they have to do is set their mind to it. Homer Hickman, a coal miner's son, is determined to break away from his assumed destiny by his father's bleak and dangerous subterranean footsteps. Homer discovers and becomes friends with, what everybody else believes to be, the class nerd in order to gain knowledge about physics. He then recruits a couple more friends to help him build and launch crude rockets. This eventually gathers the curiosity of his whole town and his unsupportive father who, naturally, sees Homer's ambition to work in the field of astrology and not in the coalmines. Although Homer and his father do not see eye to eye, Homer still goes down to the coal mines, thinking that his dreams are over when his father gets severely injured in an accident below. This shows that even though that a father and son have many differences, they still care about each other and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices for each other. This is once again shown at the end of the movie when his father goes to see his son launch his last rocket into the sky. .
A song called "Satellite" by the Dave Matthews Band immediately entered my mind as soon as homer was looking up at the Sputnik satellite that soared above the October sky. As it was flying high, one of the villagers declared that it resembles a "diamond in the sky". This is a direct quote from that song. "Rest high above that cloud, no restrictions" is a perfect quote of what was going on inside homers head when that satellite flew over the small town of Coalwood. .
"Apollo 13" also reminded me of this movie. When Tom Hanks is looking at the sky at night behind his house, and is placing his thumb in front of the moon and then taking it away, the bright light reminded me of that satellite.
The movie October Sky begins with the launching of Sputnik. ... Historical Critique The " rocket boys" were able to overcome critisism and harsh judgment to all do great things with their lives. ... Personal Critique I really enjoyed this movie. ... this movie has also inspired me further to pursue my dreams. ... This movie is truly an inspiration to me. ...
