A Space Program

In 2012, artist Tom Sachs—a proponent of bricolage (creating items from whatever materials are at hand)—staged what was essentially a performance art piece at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, where Sachs and his associates cobbled together the elements of a simulated mission to Mars. Filmmaker Van Neistat's A Space Program captures this event—narrated in the deadpan style of a NASA announcer—beginning by describing with mock seriousness what the ships and spacesuits are made of (plywood, for instance) before proceeding to cover the flight itself (the astronauts are both women, in honor of Shaker founder Mother Ann Lee, who is here credited with inventing the circular saw—one of the instruments used in the mission). Sachs himself acts as the mission director, issuing orders about how the flight is to proceed while situated before an impressive bank of video monitors, some of which display video game footage. The latter is characteristic of the quirky humor suffusing the film (the space capsule is equipped with a vodka bar, and a recording glitch in the command console is resolved by simply replacing a tangled cassette in an antiquated tape deck). Unfortunately, the joke wears thin, and the few moments in which the tone turns nasty or horrific are merely jarring. Still, this will likely interest fans of Sachs or contemporary art in general, although the oddball and often rather juvenile quality of the subject will limit wider appeal. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) [Blu-ray Review—Nov. 5, 2019—Kino Lorber, 67 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $34.99—Making its Blu-ray debut, 2014’s A Space Program features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack. Extras include both the 'Director’s Cut' and theatrical versions of the film, audio commentary by artist Tom Sachs and director Van Neistat, and seven short film collaborations by Sachs and Neistat (129 min.). Bottom line: although it looks sharper on Blu-ray, this is still an oddball art performance piece that will have limited appeal.]