Review of Pu-239 (2006) by Herve U — 22 Sep 2009

Another winning movie set in Russia. A worker in a nuclear plant, of the usual unsafe Russian design, is caught in an accidental radioactive steam leak. He is isolated behind sealed doors and sees his comrades look at him and walk away. When the event is over he is showered and his dosimeter badge is taken. He is told that his exposure is survivable but the ultimate blame is laid on him rather than the faulty design and protocols. He is now home with his wife and child with no job, no income, and a suspicion that he is being lied to. He finds his original dosimeter badge and sees that he has received a lethal level of exposure. Again, a Russian is dealt a deadly hand. Soon his body begins to fall apart. His hands need to be bandaged. His appearance is frightening. True to form, he hatches a plan to steal some Plutonium 239 and sell it on the black market so that his family will be able to survive without him. Nothing left to lose.

The theft itself is a little hard to believe, but when we see this poor dying man going out into an open air market with a cardboard sign reading merely "Pu239" we step into the other world. Our logical western minds shy away and say that this cannot be happening. This man is accosted by a street thug who thinks he controls the local market. Best line of the whole movie is when the thug asks our hero "What is Pooh?" What follows is a classic story of desperation, ignorance, greed, and simple stupidity. As westerners we might find this movie as being highly improbable, but as a Russian I can vouch for the reality and anguish of this film. By viewing it, Americans can maybe appreciate how dangerous the world we live in is without the added artificial threat levels being screamed at us everyday by our 'leaders'. By viewing foreign films such as this we can begin to be citizens of the world and realize that "they" are just like "us".