Sunday, August 30, 2009
GOING NUCLEAR
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was Peter Watkins'
a documentary showing the immense gap between public knowledge about nuclear war and the actual thing.
It won an American Oscar and many other awards. Ebert thinks it is the best documentary ever.
Using a combination of "official" documents, actual data from Hiroshima and other atomic tests as well as actors used in pre-creating what such an attack would be like in Britain, Watkins puts together a sort of mash up of fact, confusion, horrific scenes of human suffering and official bullshit.
It is very powerful.
His techniques are to put us right in the middle of the action, the attack, the actual consequences including the initial burn, the shock wave, the aftermath firestorm, the loss of oxygen and the long suffering from radiation. The psychological trauma. Insanity.
Lots of closeups. We are in the middle. Handheld cameras. He is clever in his use of absolutely normal Brit faces. Almost stereo typical kids, mums, medical people, coppers, and officials.
He shows the difference between planned events and the more likely actual carnage. Rioting, marshal law, mercy killing ensues.
In a way it is dated and in another way, mostly, it is not. It is quite up to the minute in respect to the probable outcomes. Only the faces and names will be changed.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
Labels: best films
