Chernobyl Heart

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

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.

Chernobyl Heart is a reflection of the growing dis-ease spreading like a cancer around planet earth....we think that because we don't know about the acute suffering of children,and others, thousands of miles away, or are not aware of the severe poisoning of a portion of Mother Earth's body, that it does not directly affect us. But like any cancer that begins to grow in our body, we are usually not aware of it's presence until it reaches a certain critical point...then we begin to FEEL it directly and can no longer deny its existence. What will it take for us to collectively wake up from our self-absorbed coma that refuses to understand anything at all until it's too late. We can donate our money or time in helping victims of disasters, and this is always needed, but why is this never enough? Have we not noticed that throwing money at calamitous situations never seems to solve the systemic problem of greed and corruption in the consciousness of MEN basically in charge of running everything on this planet? Maybe we all need to awaken our OWN Chernobyl Heart, first............before it is too late.

I am Ukrainian and have been a past member on mission trips to Ukraine to visit orphanages that house children living with the after-effects of the Chornobyl Nuclear Accident. I have been there, I have seen with my own eyes what these children look like. When seeing the children in the film, I was reminded of orphans that I've dealt with. The documentary accurately shows the conditions these children live in and the disabilities they live with. They have large tumors, thyroid cancer, heart anomalies, cerebral palsy, and many more disabilities. Having been in two asylums very similar to the ones shown in the documentary,I hope the only reason for making this documentary was to ask for help from those watching. I've seen firsthand how these children respond to visitors. Even those that are bedridden smile or giggle when you touch them or hold them. Those that are mobile constantly have their arms outstretched for you to pick them up. Though they have disabilities, they no more of what it means to love than "normal" people do. Hopefully, for their sake, people will watch this film and be inspired to help!!! It doesn't take much to make a difference.