In 1958, during the Cold War, two scientists, two worlds, and two ideologies faced a race for survival at the Vinca Scientific Institute near Belgrade.
Rated 4.0 / 5 from 2 logs on Katalog
Behind a tragic accident in a research facility there’s more than a mechanical failure: scientific obsession, fear of speaking up, naivety and extreme political pressure on researchers in an authoritarian regime. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it eerily reminds of the reasons that led to the disaster of much bigger proportions in Chernobyl, less than 20 years after this one. Opening with “Based on a true story” usually makes me immediately question the legitimacy of an entire movie, but here I was pleasantly surprised. I suppose that’s because, unlike many such cases, there’s nothing sensationalistic or exploitative about this one. In an empty hospital, a French scientist is testing his experimental methods in an attempt to save the lives of four Yugoslav researchers that got exposed to radiation in a secret government project. There’s no heroism, just a handful of dedicated, compassionate people quietly trying to make it work. Georges Mathé is a name everyone should know and what is shown in this movie is one of his many incredible contributions to medicine, and to society. Please, check out his Wikipedia page, that man CONTRIBUTED. The fact I can name most current celebrities but never heard of him is a bit embarrassing but says all we need to know about what we value as society, I guess. At times it’s a bit too melodramatic for my taste and I must mention that the opening credits were one of the worst visual choices I’ve ever seen (if you have any background in chemistry just skip them to spare yourself heart palpitations). Overall, it’s a good movie, well-paced, the two timelines are tied together really well, and for such a simple story it’s quite nuanced.
I had no idea about this and no expectations going in and was hugely surprised. For a 2-hour runtime the pacing was impeccable and kept me engaged throughout, with believable characters, good cinematography and great acting. The story is based on a real event, which always adds just a little gravitas as you discover how far it goes. Even the small split timelines worked effortlessly to drive the narrative and tied into each other very neatly. If I had three minor complaints it would be the opening credits design, imitating chemical symbols, which was an atrocious design decision, that some things felt just a little too clean and I wish it was grittier, and the ending ||which was just a little too "burning the notebook" korean drama|| but neither of which really detracted significant enjoyment. Another thing I thought was funny was that ||the brilliant professor doctor's entire MO was keep increasing bone marrow transplants, that's it|| but you have to consider it from the period this was set in. I can actually really recommend it
