Guardians of the Formula

Fantastic movie. Excellent production, amazing actors. A story that deserves to be told, for the whole world to know. An event that changed the course of medicine. A depiction of a situation that begins as catastrophic and ends as revolutionary. All praise for this film, the warmest recommendation. I would not share too many details, but I believe that many will be surprised by the information from the film, even those who know the history of Yugoslavia. The film carries several wonderful messages, and as the most important I would single out the one from the title itself - "everything is a chain reaction". A very interesting presentation of how one event, perhaps seemingly not so important, can affect so many people on so many levels, and, even more importantly, completely unexpectedly, shape the entire world into the way we know it today.

Saw this at the Movies That Matter 2024 filmfestival in The Hague. Insightful story about dilemma's faced by scientists, who want to forward not only science but also (and maybe foremost) their own careers, sometimes at the expense of everyone and everything. We see their interactions with politicians they need for their budget and to obtain material that is difficult to come by. Similarly, we see encounters with the secret service wanting to know all about their progress and what purpose it can serve, not always for the best of mankind, but they have leverage to get what they want to know, or to steer the project in the direction they prefer.

We see relevant issues in this context from two scientists, one behind the iron curtain and one on our side whose lives become entangled by (literally) accident. They both conclude that their encounter has a purpose. They delve deep in their motives and their conscience, equally relevant in both their respective research fields. In one of the final scenes we see a butterfly appear, not having a specific role, but carrying a hint towards us viewers that a minor flapping of a butterfly's wing can cause an avalanche or a tornado elsewhere in the world (butterfly and avalanche, both famous from chaos theory).

Neglecting family relationships is a particularly nasty habit of scientists. Our main protagonist even misses the birth of his first child. Later, when he is congratulated with the happy event, he does not even know whether it was a boy or a girl.

Even worse are their interactions with staff and others around. In contemporary terms: an unsafe work environment. With our 21st century eyes we consider their manners dubious, to say the least. We know that such norms have shifted considerably since 1958 but are also aware it still does not apply everywhere. An example from this film: firing someone in the middle of a crucial experiment when she did not address the project leader with his proper title, is not only counterproductive but is fatal in destroying a sound and safe work environment where every opinion and every employee counts.

All in all, an enlightening story in many aspects. The ancient environment anno 1958 seems to be rebuilt very well (I was 10 at the time, so my memory may fail on details). Strong and believable protagonists, each giving insight in what they want to achieve, though their ways of getting things done are not always the finest examples of pure science for the benefit of humanity. I scored a 5 out of 5 for the audience award when leaving the venue.

Bjelogrlic really out-done himself with this movie. Based on the book "Vinca case" and a real event that occured less than a century ago, the plot captures an intense story of both trying to build an atomic bomb in ex Yugoslavia and curing the scientists from all the radiation caused by it.

Some of the scenes were to agonizing to watch, so it is not a movie for everyone. The protagonist has a dual personality, where we both understand (pitty) him and hate him and blame him for all the mess. Nevertheless it leads you through happiness, pain, anger, sadness, disbelief and many other emotions but for sure will not leave you numb.

I think that this story of the first bone marrow transplant was an important one to be told to honour Georges Mathé and his astonishing work that helped many. Apart from that I really liked the idea of the subtitle "Chain reaction" which fluctuated through the film and practically explains The butterfly effect and the overall consequence of every small action.

Some of the scenes that show kindness and joy in people in the hardest situations made the whole movie so special.

Overall the acting is impeccable, and the plot, as I mentioned, is so touching and one of the best pieces I have seen for a long time.

Beautifully done, amazing acting and very important story to be told about nuclear danger as well as humanity. Hard to watch on few occasions, but stunning!

Bjelogrlic outdid himself ith this one... And especial credit for doctor's (professor's) efforts in finding such an inportant cure.

Movie kept us on out toes from the beginning untill the end, and left us talking aboit it afterwords for hours, So glad that Australian cinema recognized the value of this film, so that we were able to watch it.

The movie is not light at all, so it may not be for everyone. But very touchy and really amazing.

Based on a true story of a first human bone marrow transplant, the movie is a gripping medley of Cold War politics, medical research and historical milestones intertwined with ideological and ethical dilemmas and beliefs.

Superb performance by Radivoje Bukvic and Alexis Manenti and outstanding reconstruction of the era. The character development and suspense building by Bjelogrlic keeps you engaged and glued to the screen. His success in balancing scientific and political elements with human drama of ordinary and not so ordinary characters, and their internal conflicts portrayed, adds depth to the story.