CountryRefuge2

This documentary was so interesting to me. In 1940 America had a long-standing 'non-involvement" policy about involvement in international disputes/wars. A small group of people in Canada, America and Great Britain saw the need for espionage if we were going to avoid u-boats in troop movement. They carefully selected US and Canadians with potential and brought them to Camp X, located in Canada. There, the men were trained in espionage: secret codes, bombings, killing, how to blend in, etc. Camps were also set up in the US after joining the war.

The show opens with a dig at that Camp site, which had been destroyed. As they reveal different aspects of the training, they tell the story of men who taught or were students at the Camp. The student stories are told relevant to an aspect related to a dig discovery (i.e, ammunition) and many were still alive to reflect on their espionage during WWII.

The narration of this documentary remained interesting throughout for me as it didn't lag in places. I would (and will) recommend this to anyone interested in the US' introduction to and use of espionage.

I'm going to go out there and make a guess that most of the lower ratings for this film come from those raised on more recent action films, or those with little exposure/appreciation of film noir...or both. I found this to be a great piece of that style and thoroughly enjoyed its campiness.

Initially, each person checking into El Royale seems to be a perfect specimen of nondescript characters: a priest, a vacuum salesman, a struggling singer, etc. The composition of each scene thereafter combines a near perfect blend of writing, musical score and set design to reveal the slow peeling away of layers with each character. As this peeling away occurs, the facets of noir film making develop to create that overstated aspect that is signature film noir. The cinematography throughout adds excellent support for the development of characters and the story line.

I'm so glad I found this to watch on a dreary Sunday morning!

I had watched the first 3 episodes as they were released, then I decided to wait until all 5 episodes were out. I just watched all 5 back to back and wow, the tension and truths just keep building in this spectacular series! I especially found the "Inside Episode__" after each episode helpful for reminding me that most characters were an amalgamation of many people who actually acted in those roles, some who believed the lies and some who went against "the party line" in their search for truth. The repercussions of both directions may ultimately lead to personal annihilation.

I understand that Russia is angry about this portrayal and will be making their own documentary of Chernobyl. It will be interesting to watch that one, too.

This series combines excellent acting, great cinematography and a dynamic script that doesn't bog down. It is probably the best portrayal of Chernobyl I've seen---and this has been an interest of mine for many years. I think in many ways it is also a measure of political systems: The preponderance of lies at the top to keep the commoners focused on doing nothing but believing those lies.

Legasov's final words? "To be a scientist is to be naïve. We are so focused on our search for truth, we fail to consider how few actually want us to find it. But it is there, whether we see it or not, whether we choose to or not. The truth doesn't care about our needs or wants. It doesn't care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time. And this, at last, is the gift of Chernobyl. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, now I only ask: What is the cost of lies?"