"Sputnik Mania"

I watched the documentary "Sputnik Mania" at the Hollywood Theatre this afternoon. Using contemporary audio and video clips, the film tells the story of how the United States responded to the launching of the two Soviet Sputnik satellites in 1957.

The documentary is a skillful series of dated vignettes, each one related to the main theme and connected to the other vignettes, but each a small separate story of its own as well. The film clips the director included fascinated me—they were a view into another time, similar to our own yet distinctly alien. I especially enjoyed the clips of President Eisenhower, demonstrating his crafty command of language.

The showing I attended was the last in Portland, sad to say. The film's website can help you find out whether it will come to your town.