Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong biopic First Man received good marks this week when it landed for its world premiere as the opening-night film at the Venice Film Festival. But not all saw it that way, with a small backlash brewing over the lack of a scene showing Armstrong’s planting of the American flag on the moon’s surface during his legendary 1969 moon landing.

The flag appears several times during the movie, which stars Ryan Gosling as Armstrong, but not having the iconic flag-plant has riled many online who believe the omission may have been deliberate. Sen. Marco Rubio was among those who noted it:

This is total lunacy. And a disservice at a time when our people need reminders of what we can achieve when we work together. The American people paid for that mission,on rockets built by Americans,with American technology & carrying American astronauts. It wasn’t a UN mission. https://t.co/eGwBq7hj8C — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 31, 2018

Chazelle, the film’s Oscar-winning director, has responded to critics, saying he chose to reflect parts of Armstrong’s life other’s didn’t know about, and that it was not a political statement. “I wanted the primary focus in that scene to be on Neil’s solitary moments on the moon — his point of view as he first exited the LEM, his time spent at Little West Crater, the memories that may have crossed his mind during his lunar EVA,” he said (read the full statement below).

Armstrong’s sons Rick and Mark, and First Man author James R. Hansen, in a separate statement, also backed the movie’s choices, saying it’s “a film that focuses on things you didn’t see or may not remember about Neil’s journey to the moon.” (See their statement below after Chazelle’s).

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In Venice, First Man‘s world premiere screening on the Lido on Wednesday received a three-minute standing ovation. Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman reported wasn’t a rapturous reception, but it was respectful, which perhaps was fitting for such a skilled, clear-sighted and, at times, solemn film, whose reserve matches that of its lead character.

The film, co-starring Claire Foy, continues on its fall-festival run before hitting theaters October 12 via Universal.

Here is Chazelle’s statement:

In “First Man” I show the American flag standing on the lunar surface, but the flag being physically planted into the surface is one of several moments of the Apollo 11 lunar EVA that I chose not to focus upon. To address the question of whether this was a political statement, the answer is no. My goal with this movie was to share with audiences the unseen, unknown aspects of America’s mission to the moon — particularly Neil Armstrong’s personal saga and what he may have been thinking and feeling during those famous few hours. I wanted the primary focus in that scene to be on Neil’s solitary moments on the moon — his point of view as he first exited the LEM, his time spent at Little West Crater, the memories that may have crossed his mind during his lunar EVA. This was a feat beyond imagination; it was truly a giant leap for mankind. This film is about one of the most extraordinary accomplishments not only in American history, but in human history. My hope is that by digging under the surface and humanizing the icon, we can better understand just how difficult, audacious and heroic this moment really was.

Here is the Armstrong-Hanson statement: