Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey

The documentary covers the making of The Force Awakens: writing the screenplay, casting, building sets, shooting in the desert and the effects work. The camera is in rehearsal rooms, workshops and on set, with the director, the producers, the cast and the crew filmed while they work. Laurent Bouzereau directs. He has made production documentaries for studios for many years and the form here is his familiar shape. What stands out are the practical decisions. The production chose to use real sets, real locations and real puppets wherever possible; the desert scenes were shot in Abu Dhabi and the ship interiors were physically built. The film shows that choice in detail. The casting section works: how the new leads were found, with their screen tests. What is missing is criticism. The real problems during production, the arguments about the script and the delays are not covered; the documentary is built as promotion. The return of the original cast is given as an emotional passage and is the most watched part of it. It runs about an hour. Who it is for: followers of the series and anyone curious about how films are made. Who it is not for: there is no critical content, the tone is promotional, and the context is missing for anyone who has not seen the film.