Pu-239

I don't know what it is this weekend, but I have tasted films from France (La Haine), Korea (Boksuneun naui geot), Canada (Eve and the Fire Horse), and now, Romania, albeit a US film. Three have revenge themes, two have multicultural themes, two deal with needed kidney transplants, and they all deal with family. There are many things in these films that make you want to think and think hard. Sure, there is also a lot of humor, but it never gets in the way of the themes.

Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum, Hot Fuzz) gets screwed big-time at work. He is exposed to 1000 rems of plutonium. He knows he only has days to live and his bosses are not interested in doing anything but covering their butts. Sound familiar? Anyway, he steals 100 grams of PU-236 to help his family.

At the same time, there are three low-level thugs who are also dying. They have 72 hours to pay off the big boss for their mistake. One of them, Shiv (Oscar Isaac) comes in contact with Timofey, and stumbles through a plan to solve both their problems.

A comedy of errors ensues with Shiv's partners, Jason Flemyng (The Red Violin, Transporter 2) and Jordan Long. These two are just about the dumbest thieves in the business and they get a fantastic high at the end that will have you rolling on the floor.

Comedy and tragedy mix well in Scott Z. Burns's (The Bourne Ultimatum, An Inconvenient Truth) film. It is a shame that it probably won't get a theatrical release.

And, it's a real treat to see Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill, Man on Fire).

I didn't have high expectations here. It was on cable, and relatively unknown. This wasn't a great movie, but it was good. I thought the character development was done well, the acting was good, and the plot was well, er, OK. I guess this was based on a short story, so it must have been troubling to develop this into a full length (almost) feature film. We used the familyometer on this one. My wife gave it a pass within 5 minutes, but my daughter and I gave it a shot. She really liked it, I liked it, and it didn't grab my wife at all. There was a very funny scene which I won't give details on which involved a scene where a Russian was commenting on all things American. He made obscure connections between several recognizable names in our culture, and really did a hack job of it, but it was one of the lighter moments. The heavier moments were dark, and sad. I would recommend seeing it. If you make it past the first 10 minutes, you will probably enjoy it as I did.

This is what Indie films are all about. An excellent flick, acting, plot, script, and all else very well done. On HBO this movie is billed as PU-239 so keep an eye out for it, but be careful what you inhale while watching it!

Having been a physics major I can state that as far as the science goes the movie is loyal. Science, however, is just background. This movie is really about the human spirit continually battling against despair; the human condition and the lengths we will go to kill one another and to love one another; human ignorance and human intelligence, but without humility, and the trouble it will get us all into; and "in the end, everything decays into lead", like bullets, and the fact that no one gets out alive.

I also came across this movie as I channel surfed. Didn't even know the name of it, but was fascinated by it's authenticity, being filmed behind the former Iron Curtain.

Russia has always been a paradox, in many ways a 3rd world nation, yet a military superpower. The themes it dealt with, the worthlessness of the individual, the carelessness of dealing with unbelievably dangerous substances in such an offhand way, the ass-covering behavior of bureaucrats, the stupidity of the Russian mafia, all are classic and well developed in the film. All are characteristic of Russia, yet this story could have happened anywhere. Really scares you to think that, given the bell curve of any group of humans, the nuclear genie is actually in the hands of such oafs.

Worth watching, worth talking and thinking about.

In Russia, the technician and family man Timofey (Paddy Considine) is exposed to 1,000 REMS (Radiation Exposure Monitoring Systems) of radiation in the nuclear facility where he works. The facility director hides the level of exposure from Timofey and tries to force him to assume the blame for the accident and puts Timofey in unpaid leave.

Aware that the exposure is lethal and feeling the sickness of radiation, Timofey steals 100 mg of plutonium and heads to Moscow expecting to sell it in the black market per US$ 30,000.00 to give to his wife Marina (Radha Mitchell) and his seven year-old son Tolya (Danya Baryshnikov).

Meanwhile, the smalltime criminal Shiv (Oscar Isaac) and the gangsters Vlad (Jason Flemyng) and Yegor (Jordan Long) need to pay US$ 6,000.00 to the powerful mobster Starkov (Steven Berkoff) in 72 hours. When Shiv meets Timofey trying to sell the PU-239, he sees the chance to pay his debts and make some money. But he is incompetent and gets in trouble with powerful mobsters.

"PU-239" is a dark and depressive story about a family man that is exposed to lethal doses of radiation. His desperation with his situation leads him to try to raise money to improve the lives of his wife and his son selling plutonium that he has stolen from the nuclear plant. But his useless associate is unable to sell the good. The result is tragic and ironic, with a questionable black humor, in a weird combination of drama and comedy. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "PU-239"