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‘A Million Miles Away’ Review: From the Fields to Outer Space

In this biopic, a boy from a family of migrant farm workers watches the moon landing in 1969, which ignites his desire to be an astronaut.

A scene from the film “A Million Miles Away.”

By Concepción de León

The dream of being an astronaut was planted in José Hernández (Michael Peña) early, when he and his family were migrant workers in 1960s California. Back when the U.S. immigration policy resembled a revolving door more than a steel wall, tens of thousands of families would travel north to harvest seasonal crops. For his parents, the work was in service of a long-held dream: to build a house in their native Michoacán. The children were frequently uprooted and placed in new schools as the family zigzagged across the state, following the work. It wasn’t until a teacher, Ms. Young (Michelle Krusiec), intervened that the Hernández parents settled in Stockton, Calif., forsaking their dream for their children’s education. That’s where young José saw the 1969 moon landing on T.V., a moment that ignited a lasting passion for flight.

Sacrifice, grit, perseverance, tenacity: These are the themes that drive “A Million Miles Away,” directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella and based on José Hernández’s memoir, “Reaching for the Stars: The Inspiring Story of a Migrant Farmworker Turned Astronaut,” a true up-by-the-bootstraps tale. The film spans decades, from childhood to, eventually, the NASA space program. He married Adela (Rosa Salazar), a car saleswoman and aspiring chef, with whom he had five children; along the way he also worked as an engineer at a federal research facility. He is propelled by the support of his wife and family as well as a “recipe” for success from his father, Salvador (Julio César Cedillo), around which the film is framed.

Beautifully shot and interspersed with historical footage of migrant workers and spacecraft launches, the film’s most effective and touching scenes revolve around the family relationships, particularly José’s with his cousin Beto (Bobby Soto), who became a farmworker like his parents. In one scene, Beto says: “I just think it’s great that I get to be so freaking proud and have no idea what you’re talking about, cousin.” It’s a line that aptly distills what many upwardly mobile immigrants face. There are moments that show the clashes of the two worlds, and those that show their melding: José’s driving to work blasting a ranchera on the radio; using a corncob as a spaceship; or washing dishes in his astronaut uniform. These are heartwarming scenes, and it’s hard not to be moved by the enormity of the challenge he undertook and conquered.

But the grit narrative at times becomes a bit heavy-handed, with quotes such as “Hard work or nada,” from his father, and “Tenacity is a superpower” from his NASA trainer, Kalpana Chawla (Sarayu Blue). José Hernández applied to the space program 11 times before succeeding, and the film centers almost exclusively on this plight. There are meaningful glances at his hands, an echo of the calloused hands that supported him, and montages of his persevering through training.

In peddling the mythical American dream narrative, the film misses an opportunity for conflict or character development and falls short of delving into bigger, more interesting themes: assimilation, immigration, gender roles, family conflict. Doing so would have made for a more meaningful watch and felt more in line with our present understanding of the reality of migrants’ lives.

A Million Miles Away Rated PG. Running time: 2 hours. In theaters, and streaming on Prime Video Sept. 15.

Concepción de León is a writer and book editor based in New York. More about Concepción de León

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A Million Miles Away

A biopic about Jose Hernandez and his path from a farm worker to becoming an engineer and an astronaut. A tale of perseverance, community and sacrifice to accomplish a seemingly impossible d... Read all A biopic about Jose Hernandez and his path from a farm worker to becoming an engineer and an astronaut. A tale of perseverance, community and sacrifice to accomplish a seemingly impossible dream. A biopic about Jose Hernandez and his path from a farm worker to becoming an engineer and an astronaut. A tale of perseverance, community and sacrifice to accomplish a seemingly impossible dream.

Alejandra Márquez Abella
Bettina Gilois
Hernán Jiménez
Michael Peña
Rosa Salazar
Julio Cesar Cedillo
112 User reviews
50 Critic reviews
62 Metascore
5 wins & 6 nominations

Top cast 70

José (Age 7)
(as Juanpi Monterrubio)

Kalpana Chawla

Clint Logan

Julio (Age 11)
(as Carlos Santiago Sánchez)

Julio (Age 16)
Chava (Age 13)
Lety (Age 9)
Beto (Age 7)
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

Trivia In the film, Jose Hernandez worked on anti-ICBM missile defense (once called "star wars") while at LLL. He found and solved a problem that saved the project's funding. Jose Hernandez was also a LLL co-inventor of the digital mammogram. In a 15 September 2023 SF Chronicle interview, Jose considers it to be one of his greatest achievements for the many lives saved. This didn't make it into the film, but is worth celebrating.
Goofs Hernandez was not accepted into NASA until 2004. In the movie he is already in training when the shuttle crashes, which occurred in 2003. Furthermore he is then notified by the mission director that the Govt has approved new flights and he will be on the next shuttle flight, whereas there were 15 flights after the crash before he flew in 28 August 2009. A massive ad lib by the script writers for dramatic effect.

Kalpana Chawla : Everything looks so pretty from up there. 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.