Cinematic Releases: Chernobyl 1986 (2021) - Reviewed

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Courtesy of Central Partnership
At the tail end of 2019 I reviewed the critically acclaimed instant classic HBO series Chernobyl which still for me was the number one piece of horror media as historical drama for that year.  The story of the worst manmade disaster in the history of humankind chronicling the April 26th, 1986 explosion and containment of the Russian Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the series from top to bottom excelled in technical details from brilliant production design, terrific visual effects and powerful performances from its leading actors.  All in all, it became one of the most successful and highest rated television programs of all time.

However the show was not met without some measure of skepticism considering the creation of a composite character (played by Emily Watson) and some scenes were clearly fictionalized for dramatic effect which makes for great television but isn’t necessarily the unfettered truth.  The Russian response was generally positive save for some official media outlets who denounced the show as anti-Russian propaganda and not long thereafter it was announced the very first Russian feature film dramatizing the Chernobyl disaster was in production.

Courtesy of Central Partnership
Directed by and starring Danila Kozlovsky who at one point crossed paths with Johan Renck when he starred in Vikings and co-starring Sputnik actress Oksana Akinshina, Chernobyl: Abyss or Chernobyl 1986 as it is titled in the US follows Russian firefighter Alexey Karpushin (Kozlovsky).  Estranged from his former girlfriend Olga (Akinshina), now a single mother working as a hairdresser, the first half hour of the film mingles in their strained relationship while establishing what life in Pripyat was like prior to the disaster.  Attention to details of the time right down to the kinds of music being listened to and what kinds of movies people were watching at the time are startlingly well handled.

After kind of bumbling around with these two characters for awhile, the film abruptly jumps into the Chernobyl plant explosion and from there the leisurely drama turns into a jet back fight or flight thriller as Alexey and Olga are swept up in the chaos.  Alexey is called to both the firefighting site awash with radioactive debris and eventually working with the liquidators to drain the water valves and prevent another even greater nuclear explosion.  That the film’s hero/director is able to happen upon both of these irradiated regions and emerge mostly unscathed (save for the tail end) will raise a few eyebrows among those keen on realism but for the sake of the film functioning as a firsthand Chernobyl experience I’ll let it slide.

The first question is, how does this stack up to the hit HBO series?  The answer is surprisingly well in fact.  Going more for a World Trade Center vibe in terms of portraying the heroism of the firefighters and eventually the liquidators as well as chauffeuring in a somewhat schmaltzy Titanic doomed romance, Chernobyl 1986 is largely a panoramic big screen entertainment while also acknowledging the disaster and tipping the hat off to those who gave their lives to contain it.  Unlike the HBO series which followed key players in the saga save for some composite characters, Chernobyl 1986 fictionalizes the main characters completely who nevertheless still manage to convey what it must have felt like to live through the ordeal.

Courtesy of Central Partnership
Visually speaking Chernobyl 1986 looks splendid, shot by Kseniya Sereda who is currently at work shooting the new HBO series The Last of Us.  The score by Sputnik composer Oleg Karpachev is equally impressive and offers up a soundtrack that doesn’t quite top the sensory heights reached by Hildur Guðnadóttir but comes pretty close.  Sound wise, the film soars to uncharted heights with nuclear sound effects that will send just as many shivers up your spine as the HBO series did and there’s one particular shot of the core and nuclear magma that’s just as frightening as the core shots in the show.

Performance wise, much has been made of how much screentime Kozlovsky granted himself as the lead character who seems to carry plot armor for most of the film though he’s upstaged by his co-star Akinshina at every turn.  Effects wise and in terms of production design, the HBO series still looms over it but in terms of the body horror Chernobyl 1986 can be just as awful to look at with one particularly grisly moment of skin and flesh melting off a person’s hand.

In Russia the film was delayed for nearly a year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and opened to less than stellar box office returns and even harsher criticisms for the film’s creative license with the facts for dramatic effects.  Supposedly Nikolai Chebushev who was the head of the fire brigade that handled the first firefighter squad at the Chernobyl plant was shown the film and came away dismissing it as “fantasy” while former Soviet general Nikolai Tarakanov called it a “missed opportunity”. 

Courtesy of Central Partnership
In America the film was released without much promotion and quietly appeared in limited release.  Having seen both the HBO series and now this new film, I can say confidently there’s ample room for both.  Each have their virtues, flaws, strengths and weaknesses in addressing the Chernobyl disaster with some measure of artistic license.  While most seem to have their guns drawn out for Kozlovsky and his film, for what it’s worth Chernobyl 1986 did bring something worthwhile to the table and offered another albeit similar perspective on one of humankind’s most deathly frightening moments.

--Andrew Kotwicki