A Million Miles Away

A Million Miles Away is a 2023 American biographical drama film detailing the life of José M. Hernández, a Mexican-American astronaut, who is played by Michael Peña. It was directed by Alejandra Marquez Abella from a screenplay written by Bettina Gilois and re-written by Hernán Jiménez and Abella, based on Hernandez's autobiography Reaching for the Stars. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on September 15, 2023. Plot In the late 1960s and 70s, José is a young boy whose family travels from Michoacán as migrant workers picking grapes in California, his parents hoping to buy a house back home after they’ve made enough money. While they are working in the harvest season, José attends school and works in the fields with his family after. His teacher, Ms. Young, notices his potential and visits his parents at home to express her concern over the disruption to his studies by going back and forth as migrant workers. After his father is only paid partial wages for his work, he realizes José’s teacher was right to be concerned and the family decides to stay in California full time. Years later, José graduates from the University of the Pacific and is hired as an engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Feeling as if he needs to fit in better, he trades in his customized 1963 Chevrolet Impala for a used Mazda RX-7. While signing the paperwork, he meets Adela, whom he asks out. After an intimidating first meeting with her family, they see each other more until they marry. They have five kids and José continues to work successfully at the lab, now instructing the researchers who had previously ignored him.