KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Mindy Polinari I am in no way a conspiracy theorist, but I am also in no way familiar with the very disturbing secrets which clearly lie within Russia and its former (and current) annexed nations. This film presents a very harsh, yet realistic possible explanation for why Chernobyl happened. Why a perfectly functioning nuclear plant which fed both the government and the people suddenly melted down catastrophically. Most people have since chalked it up as "just because", as if nuclear reactors sometimes just blow themselves up randomly.Some may be put off by the filmmaker's unabashedly artistic montages of him in rather avantgarde outfits and scenes, in between heart-stopping clips of him climbing the frightfully high towers that projected the Russian Woodpecker signal, and him attempting to wrangle information out of former Soviet officials. This creativity seeps through to make it more than just another cut-and-dry documentary. The filmmaker himself has a deep personal connection with Chernobyl, and expresses that anger in various artful ways.

conannz The movies best moments come when Fedor the artist is in full flight on his conspiracy theory. They say truth is stranger than fiction but you can not be sure from this film which is presented as a documentary but it is not. We are asked to believe that there is another explanation for the Chernobyl disaster and quite some time is invested in following that storyline. That Fedor is an artist and possibly a little mad is clearly signalled early on. The woodpecker is the sound that came from a vast radar antenna array called Duga 3 or Chernobyl 2. It is 150m high and 500m wide and cost a vast amount. It is allegedly one of the reasons why access to Chernobyl has been so restricted. Chernobyl power station and the Duga 3 radar antenna were inspired by the military of the Soviet Union.What we can say about this film is that the conspiracy theory aspect helps to keep it moving. At the end of it we know 3 things.1/ Fedor is a compelling character but not entirely to be trusted. 2/ The Duga radar antenna is huge and deserves its one story. 3/ There is some scary politics going on in present day Ukraine and we should look a bit closer at that. Maybe as Fedor says it is the comeback of the Soviet Union.Certainly it is disturbing that the Russian leader can crush a small country that doesn't agree with him and almost nobody is taking any notice of that. I wonder if the film makers here tried to tell the story of the current Ukraine whether they would get an audience.On the other hand - wrap it up in a fabulist tale and call it a documentary guarantees a bigger audience.In the context of Ukrainian history with the Soviet/ Russian rulers it seems like at the very least that safety plans for Chernobyl were very careless and maybe there is more to the story in that context.The other part of the story includes reference to current and recent events in Ukraine where Russia has taken control in murky circumstances. From http://www.newsweek.com/hunt-russian-woodpecker-246670 "If anything, the military purpose of Chernobyl 2 is a reminder that the purpose of the Chernobyl power station was never entirely civilian, either. While it did provide vast amounts of electricity to Ukraine, its four reactors were of the RBMK variety, meaning they could be easily switched between the fission of uranium for civilian purposes and the enrichment of plutonium for military ones. That left the top of reactor lightly covered, in order to make the switching of fuel assemblies easier."For anyone interested in the real story - you can just look it up. http://chernobylgallery.com/chernobyl-disaster/cause/

devineni Since I filmed Fedor, along with our DP, before and after these controversial scenes, which some have said were "staged Western propaganda," I'd like to put my professional reputation behind the statement that these scenes were NOT staged.*SPOILER ALERT* One thing that became clear to me and the entire team from the beginning was that Fedor was a caged tiger. At times he was very difficult to work with and always restless, but the thing we admired about him was his unrelenting pursuit of his idea — which is why we were surprised when he turned on us and the film. Both Chad and I were there during that tense time, and Fedor was continuously fighting with us and backtracking. He still trusted his close friend and fellow Ukrainian, Artem. So we needed to film Fedor with secret cameras because we could not understand what was happening (at one point Feedor attacked me for bringing out my camera, so we knew something serious was going on). It was not an easy decision, but by using hidden cameras, we were finally able to discover the reason why Fedor no longer wanted to investigate his theory. At that point, we decided to stop filming so that Fedor could feel safe again.Fedor never knew we filmed him with secret cameras or that those scenes existed. Chad eventually told him a few nights before the premiere at Sundance Film Festival, and the screening was the first time Fedor saw this controversial footage. Obviously, we were all nervous by what Fedor might say or do on stage when he saw it. But, he was fine with it since he felt the documentary was an honest and beautifully cinematic telling of his journey.Fedor's theory sounds fantastical and even crazy, but in my opinion the film is more about how an individual can lose his way when a society disintegrates into violence and fear. These controversial scenes gives an important glimpse into just that state of mind. -- Ram Devineni, Co-Producer

Sabihondo A movie that exposes the "New Soviet Union" for what it is, criminal. We all know the Soviet Union is a 3rd world country with nuclear weapons that only steals technology and subjugates its people. This film shows one angle of their behavior and thought processes. While there are many Soviet citizens that are happy with their $50 a month pension and just want to buy food, there are more than want to play a positive part in this world but are powerless due to the power structure.After the Soviet invasion of Ukraine in 2014 (I was there when it happened), the world shrugged as putin marched like Hitler through the Crimea, then Donbas (Eastern Ukraine). This documentary shows how the evil empire has returned after refusing to accept that they are nothing more than a bunch of thugs.