Raspad

Very powerful mix of docu-drama like realism and somewhat surreal and nightmarish tones in this exploration of what happened in the days around and following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster.

The choice to switch back and forth between a more literal objective point-of-view, and a more subjective and dream-like one would seem to be a recipe for confusion and problematic storytelling, but in practice director and co-writer Mikhail Belikov pulls it off beautifully, creating a deeply disturbing portrait of a moment when things really went to hell, and no one knew just how bad it would be, all the while the government was desperately trying to deny that anything much was even really wrong.

Our main character is a very Russian anti-hero; a heavy drinking journalist who wants to uncover the truth, but is motivated by many different things, noble and not. The acting is a bit of a mixed bag, and some of the visual and physical effects show their age and lack of budget, but none of that detracts much from the claustrophobic sense of being inside someone else's nightmare.

Worth seeking out, and a shame it's so hard to find.