TV SERIES REVIEW: "Chernobyl" (2019)
Throughout its construction, history is marked by events of wide magnitude (these being positive or negative effects for the population) and which - literally - are able to put to the test all the courage of men and women around the world of a form they could never have imagined, forcing them to face totally adverse situations.
Chernobyl - the latest hit from HBO broadcaster created by Craig Mazin - is the latest proof of this and through its five potent and provocatively brilliantly engineered and masterfully executed episodes it easily enshrines itself as one of the best and most needed projects ever made by the channel, making it a mandatory recommendation for viewers who cherish a quality television product.
The drama has as its background the backstage of the abominable nuclear-related disaster that occurred in 1986, in Ukraine. In addition to this scandal of epic proportions against human life (an event virtually uncontrollable at the time and which is still something that requires exhaustive vigilance and extreme care), the mini series focuses on acts of courage involving the residents of the region who have bravely fought for their lives.
Everything gets even more intense and complicated because it portrays a Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Although there is an effort by producers to focus on the disaster episode (something that alone already has enough material for a great screenplay) and especially on how and for what reasons it happened... Everything can be even more ambitious, disturbing and questioner than the possibly anticipated.
The mini series does not miss the opportunity to benefit historically and offers the viewer a development that is branching out between the nuclear disaster itself, the particularly parallel stories of each character (who end up taking on the heavy "burden" of being heroes without super powers, but they demonstrate this in their actions) and the various political conspiracies that existed in that context of the 1980s... A demagogic carousel by the "stronger" people to the detriment of the "weaker" people (although the script did not separate the characters into "heroes" and "villains").
Extremely intelligent, everything that is watched in this mini series has the power to capture the audience's attention automatically. Privileged by a rhythm where the narrative occurs quickly (without ever sounding strange or out of context), there is no time to lose and events are worth every second in the air. It's impossible to be bored or disinterested in keeping up with the next events... Which are becoming more and more interesting as the episodes progress.
In the midst of all this, there is a concern to show - with as much realism as possible - all the terror that is implicitly linked to the tragic disaster. The writers feed the episodes with a high level of terror that materializes in the act of exploiting all the real evil that the effects of the radiation cause in the people affected. The result of this strategy makes everyone apprehensive with the scenes that follow this presentation.
In the case of HBO, its clear that no script would be so well enjoyed if it were not for the visual work that is done on top of the stories and of course things would not be different here. There is a whole brilliance related to production, a natural impact that gives the final touch to a controversial project (a ready field for many highly relevant debates) and which rekindles memories of a tragic time full of pain and traumas.
There are those people who see Chernobyl as a television project that glorifies violence (because the mini series really has very strong scenes). However, none of the acts that are shown in the scenes (by the way... sensationally personified in the skin of characters very well constructed and interpreted by an incredible cast that has Stellan Skarsgaard like central highlight!) are for free. What they actually represent is directly connected with all the sensibility behind the violence in the midst of a tragic event that has terrified - and still terrorizes - many families.
Have you seen this show, @randomwanderings? It's totally amazing!