The Last Man on the Moon

Everyone knows of Neil Armstrong and his historic first walk on the Moon, but the achievements of fellow astronaut Eugene Cernan are less well documented. Cernan was the final Apollo astronaut to leave the lunar surface in 1972, but, as the fabulous - and often previously unseen - footage assembled here shows, he was a constant, Zelig-like presence throughout the American space race. The still-sprightly octogenarian ruminates on his journeys to the stars while indulging in his passions for horse riding and flying planes, and a visit to the Cape Canaveral launch pad finds him retracing the steps he took in his youth. Cernan takes pride in being among a select few to have visited another world, but there's also regret for how he and the other astronauts neglected their families, who were thrust into the media spotlight for Nasa's tragedies as well as its triumphs. (As Cernan's wife deftly puts it, "If you think going to the Moon is hard, try staying at home.") Mark Craig's film is all the more affecting for weaving such achingly personal testimony into what is a thoroughly absorbing account of the last great era of human endeavour.