Chernobyl 2019

This last Friday, I signed up for HBO Nordic for two main reasons:

1. The third season of True Detective, and
2. Chernobyl

I sat down and watched all five episodes of Chernobyl in one go. Five beautiful, nearly perfect, horrifying, ghastly hours. I felt slightly drunk afterwards, it's that intense. At the time of writing, 202.066 people have rated it 9.7 stars on IMDB. This makes it the highest rated show on that site, ever. And I'd say it's thoroughly merited. Interestingly enough I've heard that the Russian government does not like it, but also that their own Minister of Culture liked it, stating that the show is respectful and avoids “red cranberries”, i.e. typical cliches concerning Russia.

As the name implies, this is about the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Soviet Ukraine in April 1986, it chronicles what happened, what was done about it and why it happened. The show stars amongst others: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson, not to be confused with Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame.

Before I go further, lets save some space by saying I have no complaints here. None. I can't think of anything or anyone I'd want to change. Not in a meaningful way. But Chernobyl is not a fun show. However, it is extremely compelling. I saw people raving about it on Reddit, and after a couple of clips on Youtube I knew I had to see it. I'm going to see it again.

Let's start with sound. The music is composed, or to be more exact, created by Hildur Guðnadóttir, who sampled sounds from the disused power plant in Lithuania where a lot is filmed, and it's more of a sound-scape than music. It's heavy and foreboding, at times almost a character in itself.

The show is spoken in English, with the exception of announcements which are in Russian, with everyone using their real accents, as it feels more natural. The Soviet Union was a huge mix of nations and peoples, so varying accents would have been common. They decided against starring any Americans however, as that would have felt wrong. The U.S. were the enemy after all.

Finally there is the awful and fascinating sound of the radiation meters, hissing crackling portents of doom. A truly haunting sound.

The visuals, from the (according to people who lived it) perfect recreation of 80's Ukraine, to the environments, to the disaster, all incredible.

Actors, amazing. I'm sure you get the message, it's all incredible...

I feel I should issue a warning however. The show isn't gory as such, but in the early episodes, there is a lot of vomiting, and later on you see what someone dying from radiation poisoning looks like. These are very graphic, if short scenes, but be warned.

It's also worth pointing out that every character is real and portrayed as they were, except Emily Watson's character, Ulana Khomyuk. She is a representation of all the other scientists who gave their all to stop the disaster, but in a five hour show, you can't bog it down with dozen of extra persons, not in a meaningful way. So they created a gestalt to honor and represent them. No one is included at the expense of someone else.

Chernobyl is a masterclass in the old rule Show don't Tell. Sure, they tell you a lot, but the really important things are shown. The direction of the wind, the color of the trees under the passing cloud of smoke.. again and again they demonstrate, rather than lecture, and it's incredible.

My fear now, is that I have been so overly passionate that it won't live up to your expectations, but I leave that up to you. Personally I can't recommend it enough. A hard watch but so worth it.

Well, there you have it. Until next time, have a great week and stay away from radiation!