Films about Chernobyl became a clue to those events and at the same time entailed a number of rhetorical questions. In each film, directors try to uncover the theme of this tragedy for their part, from a new facet, unpredictable outcomes. They return us to that ill-fated day not to remind us of the pain experienced by people, but rather to protect us from the possibility of its recurrence.
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Russian art films about Chernobyl
Feature films about Chernobyl are striking in their depth. They interpret the general grief in the fate of individual characters, thereby conveying the severity of the situation, the emotions experienced, a sense of hopelessness.
"Wolves in the zone"
This film was another example of how the bandits tried to warm their hands in a disaster. Quite tense and mixed feelings cause the incidents described in this film. On the one hand - cornered, desperate people who are trying to survive and feed themselves in any way. On the other hand - dirty unprincipled racketeers who do not care about everyone except themselves. Police and power remain on the sidelines, which turns the town into a cluster of beggars and oppressed. Seeds gang cleans abandoned houses, replenishing pockets with income from sales of radiation-infected appliances, furniture, and jewelry. A young policeman stands in the way of the looters, who has decided to influence the criminals and stop the chaos.
"Decay"
This film has several storylines, but all of them are connected as a result of a common misfortune. One of the heroes, Alexander Zhuravlev, will fall into a difficult life situation. He must dot the i with his wife, who has a lover. Soon, Alexander will have to lose two close friends, who at the time of the Chernobyl tragedy had to work at the epicenter of events. In parallel with this, the story of two lovers, Luba and Valera, who fled from their own wedding, is told. The third storyline conveys the story of the boy’s allegiance to his friend, the little kitten. Strict control did not allow the child to remove the animal from the affected area, and they both remained within its borders.
"Ranger from the atomic zone"
This tape is the result of joint production of Russia and Belarus, which also received serious damage as a result of the tragedy. The main character is captain Barsuk Alexey. After serving in a nuclear submarine, he returns to his native village. This territory, like many others, fell into the radiation zone. Alexei decides to devote himself to the problem that has arisen and ensures that harmful substances do not go beyond the allotted boundaries. Unfortunately, a gang of looters comes to mind an illegal form of earning - collecting and selling things from the radioactive zone. In parallel with this, other crimes also occur: deforestation and the prosperity of drug addiction. The main character, along with his friend, tries to resist the actions of attackers, but, alas, the forces are unequal.
Films of foreign film distribution
Foreign directors, who set out to penetrate the atmosphere of the incident, did not remain indifferent to the tragedy in Chernobyl, to plunge into all the troubles and their consequences of the affected people. Despite the complexity of the task, they succeeded.
"Restricted area"
It is quite unusual to see a film shot by American directors in a Ukrainian city. It somewhat resembles the acclaimed Hollywood thrillers, but nevertheless reveals the most terrible side of the disaster. A group of extreme tourists decided that the most striking impression would be a visit to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Young people do not suspect how much the emission of radiation has changed the local nature, and what monsters Pripyat has now sheltered. A carefree, at first glance, walk may be the last in their life. What is hidden in the abandoned depths of the city - one can only guess. Heroes belatedly regretted that they had gone on such a dangerous journey, and did not spend that night at home in a warm bed.
"Land of Oblivion"
The Ukrainian-French film reveals a striking contrast between the lives of people before and after the tragedy. The plot is designed in such a way that allows the viewer to fully experience everything that happens with the help of their own emotions. In the midst of the wedding of Anna and Peter, the festive idyll is destroyed by the message of a major forest fire. The profession of the newlywed obliges to leave for the incident immediately, which became his fatal mistake. Subsequently, the cause of the fire is also found out - an accident at a nuclear power plant. Peter receives a dose of radiation incompatible with life. Anna’s trouble is that doctors do not allow her to her beloved because of the danger of infection. The misfortune of the heroine can not leave indifferent those who have a heart.
"I remember"
The drama developing in the film “I Remember” is close to the people of Belarus. It was on their side that ominous radioactive winds blew. The director described the story of the Minsk artist Anatoly in the film. Despite the fact that in the life of the hero everything is fine, he can not get rid of the heavy memories of the accident. Neither beloved work, nor close people are able to help forever forget about the brother who died due to the radiation received. The only way out that Anatoly sees is a trip to his native place, where he was so young and carefree.On the trip, he is pleasantly pleased that people do not give up: they continue to live and strive for the best. And the news that a local artist needs an artist became a real gift of fate for the hero. He gets to work, perceiving it as an opportunity to heal the soul.
"Aurora"
The tragedy of children due to the Chernobyl disaster is a separate issue. Still innocent and defenseless, they are also forced to cope with the consequences of the accident. Honestly and so truly it turned out to reveal this issue with a talented director from Ukraine. The action in the film takes place around the girl Aurora Nedeline, who dreams of becoming a ballerina. She lives in the orphanage of Pripyat and has only one close person who works at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The child does not hide his warm feelings for him and puts him in the place of his father, whom she had long lost. Unfortunately, this attachment will become fatal for the child, because that is why she will be at the very center of the accident and receive a huge dose of radiation. Due to the complexity of the situation, Aurora will be able to help only in America, where a fateful meeting will happen for her - acquaintance with an idol, which will be a pleasant surprise and lead to changes in the fate of the heroine.
Ghost Town Documentary Films
Discarding emotions, you can try to figure out the tragedy with the help of documentaries, which are shot quite a lot. The plots of the films were based on eyewitnesses, documented facts and comments by experts.
"Zone of silence"
This picture about Chernobyl reveals the situation through the eyes of a young journalist who spent his childhood in Pripyat. It shows memorable places, recalling the old days. His native streets lead him to the school he attended, and the house of culture, where the journalist’s mother worked. The film contains amateur insertions of his friend, who is not destined to stay alive. Interviews by liquidators, rescuers, generals, politicians, and even academicians and writers help fill the whole picture of events. Due to the negligent and irresponsible attitude of the station management, many ordinary citizens suffered. Their fates were broken, some died. Only thanks to caring heroes, it was possible to eliminate the consequences (as far as possible) and to avoid the spread of infection.
"Radiophobia"
A bold documentary about the secrets of the investigation and classified materials. The film opens up new unexpected versions of events. One of them is the cause of the death of many liquidators. There is an opinion that the radiation itself did not do as much damage as panic and stress. Moral and physical overload significantly shook the health of heroes-patriots, which led to the emergence of "bouquets" of disease. Environmental scientists talk about experiments that reveal the real threat of an accident. The number of radionuclides was significantly exceeded, and the hype that arose around the events was clearly exaggerated. The radiation safety engineer estimated the extent of the infection as insignificant, comparable to undergoing an ordinary X-ray examination. To agree with this opinion or not is everyone's choice.
“Seconds to a Disaster”
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant became the plot for one of the series of the American serial television documentary channel National Geographic. This project was focused on the film adaptation of world technological disasters, natural disasters and tragedies. The creators direct all their forces to the second-by-second recovery of events and their true display. In this picture, the viewer does not have any emotional impact - only dry facts. The latest CGI graphics technologies make the image as close as possible to reality. In this way, the presence of each person in the epicenter at the time of the accident is simulated.The channel, based on its own investigation, gave the world an accurate chronology of the disaster.
Real-Time Films
Combining the reality of events and a creative approach, the directors created real masterpieces that will be popular for a long time to come.
Moths
The four-episode film "Moths" takes the viewer many years ago, plunges into the atmosphere of the city of Pripyat at the time of the disaster. Two sisters - a schoolgirl Alevtina and a doctor Mariyana Shirokova - decided to visit relatives. Unfortunately for them, precisely at this moment an explosion occurs at the fourth power unit. The father of the girls, an experienced pilot, becomes a liquidator. Experiencing her daughters, the hero sends Pavel to them, with whom Alya falls in love. The development of feelings of young people occurs against the backdrop of evacuation and emergency. Shirokov could not survive - the helicopter hit the reactor structure and the pilot died on the spot. Maryana becomes a volunteer, helps to provide medical care, as a result of which she receives serious radiation and is sent for treatment in Moscow. The tragedy did not pass over Paul either: he becomes a victim of radiation sickness, but the strength of love for Alevtina lifts him to his feet, a young man returns for her.
"On Saturday"
The film, based on real events, reveals the irresponsible and inattentive behavior of the authorities at the time of the Chernobyl accident. The priority for them is to avoid panic, and not the health of the inhabitants of the region. Knowing that the city is unsuitable for people to live in it, the management decides to hide what has happened from the population, but Kabysh Valery randomly finds out about it. He becomes a hostage to the situation, because he does not want to be a source of panic and go against the authorities. But he can’t even calmly watch how people continue their ordinary lives, celebrating a day off under dangerous conditions. The hero is torn between two positions: to reveal to citizens a secret and save thousands of lives, or to keep silent and only evacuate their loved ones? Many fates depend on Valera’s actions, but the final decision remains with him.
