dliu’s review published on Letterboxd:
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a fantastic movie. It is masterful filmmaking and intelligent, empathetic storytelling of J. Robert Oppenheimer. And I am angry. For two reasons.
One, angry at the dropping of the atomic bomb at the cost hundreds of thousands of lives. And two, angry at the attack and control of free thinking.
At his core, that’s who Oppenheimer was. A guy who thought and loved thinking freely. About physics, religion, poetry, literature, politics, morals, how they intersect, and all of the above. And to see other scientists and his close one’s hurt, reputation dragged through the mud, words used against him, and research misused, for selfish and inhumane reasons. It’s disheartening.
There’s many colors to Oppenheimer’s legacy- it is not, and should not be viewed as black-and-white.
With all that said about this fantastic movie, Oppenheimer and the notion of free-thinking, I will end this log with a list of recommended readings and one movie.
-For movies, I recommend The Wind Rises by Hayao Miyazaki. Tells the story of Jiro Hirokishi, the mind behind aircrafts used by Japan during WWII.
-American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The book the movie is based off of. I’m halfway through it at the time of writing. So far, I’ve found that the film was a faithful adaptation.
-Hiroshima by John Hersey. It tells the stories of six survivors of the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Hauntingly detailed, this book must be read by everyone.
-Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Corr: Tells the story of Sadako Sasaki. She was diagnosed with leukemia from radiation caused from the atomic bomb. With inspiration from her friend, she arrived to fold one thousand paper cranes, where legend says if done successfully, will grant them a wish. A monument was built in her memory in Japan. A beautiful and tragic book in memory of Sadako’s incredible strength.
