The Bomb

This is a great compilation of visual depictions of the power of the nuclear bomb, the outcomes of when it used to destroy life and archival footage about its use and destructiveness. Lest we forget the power of this weapon, this film serves as a cinematic reminder of the need to be responsible for what can destroy mankind in an instant should be it used carelessly, or if there is the need to ever use it all.

I understand art can be controversial but this piece was overly repetitive and relied too much on the idea of trying to make mushroom clouds look beautiful. Not really educational or interesting at all. Music was good though.

On the same page as the Qatsi trilogy, Baraka and similar impressionistic documentaries, "The Bomb" is somewhat less challenging as a piece of film. With a far more lenient 55-minute run-time and something that more closely resembles a plot/central theme in atomic/nuclear weapons, their history and dangers than those other films' more hazy themes, "The Bomb"'s ultimate purpose and effect is less scattershot. The usual suspects of footage used practically whenever nuclear weapons are discussed (Oppenheimer's "I am become Death" line) do make their necessary appearances here, but the great soundtrack and editing do re-contextualize them somewhat. Ultimately, what could've been a boring, pretentious experimental film is significantly less so than expected thanks to its clear aim, the importance of what it has to say and the cinematic tools of its clever soundtrack and relatively fast-paced editing.

Enthralling and entrancing, The Bomb combines archival nuclear test footage and Cold War propaganda films, set to modern electronic trip-hop by The Acid. The narration of traditional documentary is eschewed as the images are allowed to speak for themselves, unfiltered. The result strikes an awesome and terrifying emotional nerve, one that we have grown numb to in the wake of the Cold War, as one realizes the still present risk of a nuclear apocalypse through accident, proliferation, and escalation.

Wonderful ambient soundtrack contrasted by images of humanity's atomic chaos. Abstract, avant-garde and haunting, this film possibly says just as much through its evocative silences than adding narration could, leaving the viewer alone to ponder and soul search over many themes and ideas. Thoroughly gripping and enjoyable, refreshingly unique and experimental, "The Bomb" deserves much more acclaim than it seems to receive online. In a world where opinions are incessantly voiced, this work of art was a breath of fresh air.