Chernobyl Heart

Maryann DeLeo's Oscar-winning "Chernobyl Heart" follows Irish activist Adi Roche through Ukraine and Belarus, treating children affected by nuclear fallout from the 1986 disaster. Watching the documentary, I couldn't help but think of Fukushima. Much like how Chernobyl irradiated an entire region, Fukushima leaked mass quantities of radiation into the Pacific Ocean, and a fair amount of it has reached the west coast of North America.

So, when people champion nuclear energy as the solution, remember what you saw in this documentary. The children in northern Ukraine and southern Belarus are likely to suffer severe birth defects for decades to come. Some acquaintances of mine in Germany said that they have to be careful when buying mushrooms since a number of them come from Belarus's irradiated regions (which Aleksandr Lukashenko now wants to repopulate). Solar and wind produce sufficient energy without causing the birth defects that we see in "Chernobyl Heart".

I just saw this for the second time and it is a truly haunting film. Only about 45 minutes long, I have watched it on HBO once and then recorded it to show to my husband later. It filled me with such sadness and shock that I just had to share the experience. I had no idea that the effects of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl in 1986 were so devastating and so long lasting. It seems to be that this whole situation and condition of this area is kept rather under wraps and silent. If everybody knew about these people and their lives now, I would hope more could and would be done to help. If you want to be informed, touched and moved very deeply, please watch this documentary.

I first heard of this documentary while watching the Academy Awards. I was intrigued, but not enough so to look it up. When it aired on HBO I watched the whole thing and did not manage to hold back my tears. The defects on the people caused by the radiation were devastating to see. It made me wonder how I could ever envy anybody else's life, when compared to these people I have been so blessed. The direction in the movie was amazing, and style was unique. I would recommend this to everyone, but if you do watch it be prepared for some very haunting images that will be sure to stick with you for a long time.

10/10

To say I was affected by Chernobyl Heart would be putting it mildly. Like many people I imagine, I first viewed Chernobyl Heart on HBO and was reduced to tears at the sight of so many suffering children. It is beyond cliché, however watching children suffer so makes me feel like rubbish for ever complaining about anything in my life. On a positive note, I did begin to involve myself with the Chernobyl Children's Project International, and last Christmas donated money and collected money at my job for their obviously worthwhile cause. Now that I'm back at school, I hope I might continue my work with the organisation. I didn't mean to turn this into a plug for CCPI, however it goes hand in glove with watching such an inspiring film.

I saw this film on HBO this morning and was profoundly affected by it. The helpless and abandon children so lonely and suffering brought me to tears. You want to touch them in some way to ease their pain. I, too, was moved to realize just how blessed I really am. It also frightened me when the filmmaker commented that Chernobyl is the next Chernobyl. That the structure is deteriorating and radio active material that remains within it will soon pose even a greater potential for disaster than the first deadly episode. Is there nothing that can be done to prevent this impending catastrophe? I would greatly appreciate any information that an expert might have regarding this extremely grave situation