Lunarcy!

Simon Ennis

BY Daniel PrattPublished Feb 7, 2013

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A quick Google search for, "dream of living on the Moon" returns an obscene number of results, with a surprisingly large portion of them being sites devoted to lunar dreamers with abundant theories and ideas on how to make it happen.

For decades, artists have painted conceptual pictures and musicians have crooned about what it would be like. Most recently, with the passing of Neil Armstrong, the world once again has taken a moment to think about the sensation created when a man first stepped foot upon the Moon's surface.

Moon-obsessed dreamers are the unusual focus of director Simon Ennis's debut documentary, Lunarcy!, as he examines fantasists and schemers alike and their bizarre philosophies. Ennis presents a touching and comical portrait of passion and imagination in an 80-minute package that grabs your attention and won't let go.

Much of the film's spotlight is shone upon the eccentric Christopher Carson, a young man who has devoted his life to spreading the word of lunar colonization. He travels to tradeshows, schools and even NYC's Times Square to hand out his homemade flyers and attempt to raise awareness of "Luna," his vision of the first Moon-based settlement for humans. Carson is also adamant that he should be the first person to make the great trek, and he has no intention of returning.

We also meet Peter Kokh, editor of a newsletter that posits concepts and ideas of various cultural aspects related to Moon colonization. Kokh has thoughts on what sort of music will be popular, what the homes will look like and what activities residents will enjoy. Equally as harmless is Alan Bean, who incidentally is a former astronaut and the fourth man to walk on the moon. Now a senior citizen and artist, Bean's muse is the Moon and his lunar memories spill out onto the canvas.

Finally, we are introduced to Dennis Hope, the self-proclaimed "owner of the Moon," who has been selling one-acre plots of lunar land for decades. Hope believes he found a loophole in the 1967 U.N. Outer Space Treaty and used it to become the sole owner. Genius or whacko, Hope has made more than $30 million dollars over the years and people continue to buy, including former U.S. presidents and dignitaries.

With its quirky soundtrack, fun animation and equally enjoyable stock footage, Lunarcy! is a unique documentary infused with comedy, yet it presents some visionary ideas that can't be completely disregarded. Many people throw around the expression, "reach for the stars," but the subjects of Ennis's documentary are doing just that.
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