TIFF Docs

Return of the Atom is a Kafka-esque look at the folly of man. Nothing goes right with the first attempt at building a nuclear power plant in a western country since the tragedy at Chernobyl in 1986 – you just have to see it to believe it.

It was supposed to be the triumphant return of fusion-based power to Europe when it was announced in 2004 that the remote Finnish island of Olkiluoto was going to host a brand new nuclear reactor. However, instead of ushering in a new age of eco-friendly nuclear power, nothing has gone as planned. The old habits of both the public and the private sector start to come to the surface and what is supposed to be a beacon of hope ends up as an absolute mess.

This film plays like Fox News report where everyone is blaming each other as common sense falls on deaf ears and nothing happens. Directors Mika Tannila and Jussi Eerola have had their cameras on this story for the better part of a decade and craft hauntingly beautiful visuals with a story that could have been a positive thing but devolves into a mess of corruption and apathy where dollar signs ultimately outweigh doing a project like this in the proper fashion.

A fantastic example of how we as a populace need to stop believing our own bullshit, leaving our ego at the door and putting the greater over the personal good.

Screens

SEP 11 6:30 PM @ Scotiabank Theatre Scotiabank 4
SEP 12 11:30 AM @ AGO Jackman Hall
SEP 18 6:15 PM @ Scotiabank Theatre Scotiabank 14

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