Review of Radio Bikini (1988) by Rebecca C — 14 Mar 2008

This is a pretty haunting documentary about the atomic bomb tests on the Bikini Atoll following WW2. There is no narration and this works great for the film, letting the archival footage and the two interviewees do the speaking.

Stone also prefers to show this situation as an absurdly terrifying one, specifically with the sequences where they are tying up animals to see what radiation does to them with a liturgical song being played over it and when the second bomb goes off there is island music playing for the duration.

The way that he deals with John Smitherman (the sailor who was hurt by the fallout) and does not reveal his deformity until the end is both captivating and disturbing. This would make a great companion piece to The Day After Trinity.