Despite the fact that the main characters are a couple of years older, this film has much in common with "Stand by me" (1986, Rob Reiner). For 17 year old high school students there are surprisingly little troubles with love affairs in the plot, and this benefits the film.
Instead of girls the relation of the main character with his father is really important. Just like in "Stand by me" the main character suspects that he is less favoured than his brother. His father has always time when his brother has a football match, but is always busy when he is crafting his mini rockets.
The father works at the local mine, a major employer in the small village. He expects that his son will follow in his footsteps. You almost hear Bruce Springsteen sing "I come from down in the valley. Where mister when you're young. They bring you up to do like your daddy done" (1980, The river).
His son has other plans and is encouraged in this by his schoolteacher. This schoolteacher (Laura Dern) plays the role of the unconventional teacher, but in a totally different way than Robin Williams in "Dead poets society" (1989, Peter Wear). In "Dead poets society" the teacher learns his wealthy pupils to care about thinks that are not related to making a career. In "October sky" the teacher learns her poor pupils to set their ambitions regarding their career not to low.
Instead of girls the relation of the main character with his father is really important. Just like in "Stand by me" the main character suspects that he is less favoured than his brother. His father has always time when his brother has a football match, but is always busy when he is crafting his mini rockets.
The father works at the local mine, a major employer in the small village. He expects that his son will follow in his footsteps. You almost hear Bruce Springsteen sing "I come from down in the valley. Where mister when you're young. They bring you up to do like your daddy done" (1980, The river).
His son has other plans and is encouraged in this by his schoolteacher. This schoolteacher (Laura Dern) plays the role of the unconventional teacher, but in a totally different way than Robin Williams in "Dead poets society" (1989, Peter Wear). In "Dead poets society" the teacher learns his wealthy pupils to care about thinks that are not related to making a career. In "October sky" the teacher learns her poor pupils to set their ambitions regarding their career not to low.