‘Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes’ (2022) Review: Harrowing Images of the Nuclear Disaster
In 2019, HBO premiered Chernobyl, a five-part miniseries that dramatises the disaster at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union on April 26 1986. It chronicles the gripping and emotional story of the worst man-made casualty in history. The miniseries details on how the tragedy began early in the morning with an explosion followed by the chaos that was unleashed due to careless procedures. After more than 36 years after the explosion, James Jones’ documentary Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes shows newly uncovered archival footage and interviews recorded with people who were present during the tragedy. There’s nothing light-hearted about this documentary and features clips of the response team that were in charge of handling the situation, regardless even if it would cost them their lives.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes is harrowing. The documentary begins with footage of Chernobyl residents living peacefully in their neighbourhoods, children playing in the background and a doctor announcing a new maternity ward due to the increased birth rates and the arrival of new families. When the nuclear reactor exploded, the initial reaction by the authorities was to deny it due to the Western media’s curiosity as to what was happening in Chernobyl. This leads to the inevitable tragedy that changes their lives forever.
It discusses the cleanup, which involved an army of soldiers, who “volunteered” to shift and remove the radioactive materials off the roof. In the footage, the men boasted about their mission, but they were completely unaware of the dangers ahead. During the mission, the men weren’t given protective gear and by the second or third round, they were exposed to radiation. Later, after they finished their job, they were rewarded with cash money. In the documentary, some of the men who survived the radiation poisoning are seen on screen and discuss the multiple health conditions they have since that day, and illnesses that they were never diagnosed with before.
The aftermath of radiation exposure affected a lot of people and babies, who were born with adrenal and thyroid cancer. While other babies were called “sirens,” due to their mermaid-like fishtail bodies. At a hospital that specialises in treating radiation exposure and medicine, firefighters were dying in droves. Even at this authorities refused to make a public statement regarding the nuclear explosion. Doctors would tell their patients that it was “radiophobia,” a medical condition that made people think they were sick from radiation exposure.
The attitude of the Soviet Union government resulted in many deaths and birth defects in children. Since the government refused to acknowledge their mistake, the cover-up led to the collapse of the USSR and Ukrainian independence. Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes might seem familiar for those who watched the miniseries, but it is a less dramatised and visceral account of the tragic event that destroys the lives of almost 200,000 people, which the Soviet Union doesn’t deny. Their official death count is 31.
Edited by: Raayaa Imthiyaz
