Outstanding Documentaries: Children of Chernobyl (1991)

Sick of glossy Netflix documentaries that are more about selling an edge-of-your-seat thriller storyline than documenting reality?  Me too.  While interest in the genre is at an all-time high, it's harder than ever to find unbiased documentaries that do what they're supposed to do:  present raw, factual information in a gripping manner without injecting a bunch of special effects, emotionally manipulative gimmicks or the producer's own foregone conclusion on the subject.  

Thus I'm announcing my Outstanding  Documentaries series in which I'll share reviews of films that fit into the "actual documentary" category.  These flicks will come from all eras & cover social, political & personal topics with as little extraneous tampering from the filmmaker as possible.  (With an emphasis on obscure & banned films, government cover-ups, medical/psychology topics & things that are generally NOT uplifting.  I like my documentaries dark.  Consider this your trigger warning).  Spoilers will be minimal.

Child with alopecia caused by radiation poisoning

First up is Children of Chernobyl directed by Clive Gordon.  Filmed in the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster of 1986, Children of Chernobyl provides a unique window into the last days of the Soviet Union & the ghastly effects of radiation poisoning that the Soviet government tried to cover up.  (Though Wikipedia's pages on this subject are also disturbingly gaslight-y, accusing survivors of "radiophobia" & downplaying the chronic health effects of this carcinogenic mutagen in the soil, air, water & food).  The success rate in Kiev for treating childhood leukemia at this time was less than 15% due to the state of their run-down hospitals.  The radiation released into the atmosphere from Chernobyl was equivalent to 400 Hiroshima bombs which was bad enough, but the suffering was compounded by the lack of basic medical necessities like painkillers & disposable needles, which led to gruesome preventable infections.

While this film is a hard watch at times due to the heartbreaking scenes of children suffering, there's enough hauntingly beautiful shots of the countryside around the Exclusion Zone to break up the doom & gloom. This juxtaposition makes for an unforgettable documentary, one that proves no system of government whether communist or capitalist is above sacrificing its citizens when the shit hits the fan.  It's films like this that make one contemplate the place of assisted suicide in medicine & whether forced treatment of people like children who can't consent to such treatment--particularly when it's almost certain to be futile & cause more suffering--constitutes cruel & unusual punishment.  It also drives home the utter powerlessness of everyday people when a large environmental crisis occurs. 

If you liked HBO's 5-part miniseries Chernobyl, this is a must-see.  No dramatization could come close to the real thing.  

Teacher recounts the horrors she witnessed while being told all was well