Saturday, August 5, 2023

Film Oppenhimer review


 


The new film by Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer," has made waves around the planet. Two movies released on Jul 21, 2023, "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie", from the opposite end of the spectrum, hit the box office at the theatre. The film is about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who spearheaded the development of the atomic bomb. The film is based on the book "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird (Author), Martin J. Sherwin (Author):" (My review of the book - in construction).  The book won the Pulitzer Prize and is absolutely worth the read. You may download the book from my Google Drive (I periodically check and grant permission to download the book for the required e-mail ). It took a rare collaboration between two indefatigable writers — and 25 years — to write the prizewinning Oppenheimer biography that inspired the film. It is one of the best biographies I have come across.


The film reviews, generally very positive, are covered in all media, from conservative to progressive, small newspapers and big ones, Scientific journals to household magazines, in the USA, U.K., and India in multiple languages. The same is true for podcasts and T.V. shows. ! I rank the film as 8.5 out of 10 and recommend it as a must-see film. for cinephiles who love biopic and historical films " 


Oppenheimer's shadow has screeched into the 21st century after eight decades. We are still living in the Nuclear age he helped to create, We are still confronted with the same moral and political dilemma. The film offers a chance to reinvigorate the public debate about the  Nuclear threat,  the role of politicians vs technocrats,  and societal regulation with the new booming threat of Artificial intelligence It also offers a very valid reminder of using political ideology and sympathy as a weapon to address the political agenda and mischaracterize the person with lies.  Oppenheimer was also a Communist sympathizer in his early years unlike  his troubled lover and his wife and son-like younger brother was never a party member.  He was always loyal to the USA. However, his opponent made continuous attempts to label him as a traitor. His political sympathies was enough to disqualify him after  the purpose of making the Atomic bomb was over 

 

The film is also playing in IMAX theatres. The film begins with ripples expanding in puddles as raindrops fall. Three hours later, we get a vision of Earth beginning to burn as nuclear explosions bloom across the globe. Oppenheimer is played by Cillian Murphy, who catches the quiet inquietude of the man, his moral dilemma, and his tobacco-softened speech. He has played all roles of different ages. Oppenheimer; The film is focused on his tenure as director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, where the bomb was built and post-bomb inquiry by witch-hunting in the McCarthy era of investigations and anti-communist crusade. 1954 investigation is in color, taking the secret clearance of Oppenheimer away. There is another flashback about the senate hearing of Oppenhiemer's chief antagonist Lewis Strauss for his nomination as the commerce secretary. 


One of the things that grabbed more extensive attention was Oppenheim's fascination with learning Sanskrit. Conducted in secret, the test called "Trinity" worked. As Oppenheimer later recounted in a 1965 interview, the moment had called to mind a line from the Hindu Bhagavad Gita: "Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." It is repeated twice in the film. The words he reads aloud, which he translates from Sanskrit, are those of the god Krishna – "I become death, the destroyer of worlds" Once with his girlfriend/lover Jean Tatlock in the bedroom scene. It prompted outrage among the Hindu right-wing in India, who have alleged that a sex scene featuring a sacred text has offended religious sentiments. 


I think the Hindu right-wing protest in India is totally misunderstood, incongruous, counter-productive and even ridiculous. It reminds me of the protest from the religious Christians/Evangelists in the film "last temptation" or "Lady of Heaven", a film about the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, after the movie sparked peaceful protests by British Muslims.


The bang in the movie is Trinity test —the first detonation of a nuclear device, in July 1945 is intense. Many observers, including Oppenheimer's boss, General Leslie R. Groves (Matt Damon), lie flat on the ground.

 A few weeks after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Oppenheimer wrote a letter to the Secretary of War warning that "the safety of this nation…cannot lie wholly or even primarily in its scientific or technical prowess. It can be based only on making future wars impossible."

 The young physicist "Oppie" had soon rubbed shoulders with the most significant scientific figures of his age, and his academic work advanced quantum theory and predicted everything from the neutron to the black hole. He was also a voracious learner outside of the sciences, learning Sanskrit, studying religion, and aligning himself with various progressive causes.


Politicians' unfair mistreatment of Oppenheimer despite his being loyal to the USA and having enormous contributions is indeed sad. It reminds me of another great biographical thriller film, "Imitation Game" The Imitation Game tells the true story of British mathematician and computer pioneer Alan Turing, who helped break crucial secret codes, particularly those sent on Germany's Enigma machine during World War II. He was penalized for being Gay. Later British Government apologized for his bad treatment. 

 

The movie also does a great job of presenting the tensions surrounding the removal of Oppenheimer's security clearance after the Second World War and the subsequent downfall of Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, who sought Oppenheimer's fall from grace. It's also beautifully filmed, especially the scenes on location in Los Alamos in New Mexico.

In the case of Oppenheimer, President Johnson gave him the Enrico Fermi Award. In December of 2022, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm signed an order vacating a 1954 decision by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to revoke J. Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance.

Oppenhiemer's personal challenges to deal with depression in his twenties remind him of another genius John Bash in the film "beautiful mind."  

The appearance of Albert Einstein was weak and unnecessary. Both nude scenes of Oppenheimer and his lover Jean are unnecessary as well. As good as the film is, it dwarfs compared to the book on which the film is based. The book covers many other aspects of the life of Oppenheimer, which has the feel of a Shakespearian drama and a much better understanding of the very complex genius person Oppenheimer was. The book and the film provide little info on the technical aspect of the atomic bomb and quantum physics or the contributions of dozens of the great minds of the era. However, there are enough very intriguing pointers that made me subscribe to streaming platforms like CuriosityStream and Wondrium(with several tutorials from "the great courses" and several education sites) and Magellan TV. 


I suggest seeing the film after some homework to get more out of the film. Personally, I am enamored by the film a lot more by the book. I am considering seeing the movie again to understand some details better as I know the real characters better, 


References 


Newspapers and magazines 

Oppenhiemer film Who's who ;  Needed to understand the real like characters and actors

Oppenheimer's: An Ominous Origin Story

Christopher Nolan's new film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who spearheaded the development of the atomic bomb, opened on Jul 21.

 National Geographic(NG)

(The devastating legacy of U.S. nuclear tests still lingers today.):Disaster legacy (N.G.) 

https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/letter-to-secretary-of-war-henry-stimson/


J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century by David Cassidy ( download  from My Google Drive) . In Greek mythology, Prometheus is  referred to as the God of Fire. 

Prometheus is best known for defying the Olympian gods by stealing fire from them and giving 

it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge, and more generally, civilization.


Other relevant films:

  1. A Compassionate Spy documentary   by Steve Janes ( In theater or rental $7). The film tells the story of Manhattan Project physicist and Soviet Union spy Theodore Hall. Characters also covered  in the book . 
  2. The  Atomic Bomb: Crash Course in History of Science 
  3. Exploring Quantum history  with  Brian Greene  at the t the  Curiosity stream  ( 4parts) 
  4. Many worlds of Quantum Mechanics 
  5. The Truth about Franco - Spain's civil war  4 episodes (Oppenheimer was deeply disturbed against Franco and collected  funds to support the rebel , his wife's 1st husband volunteered to  fight against Franco and died) 
  6. Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018 Bollywood)

Podcasts 

 There are many. The one that I heard are: 

Books 

  1. The Making of the Atomic Bomb  –by Richard Rhodes (Author) ** Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award**  download 
  2. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center by Ray Monk  (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, biographer)  download 
  3. J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century by David C  Cassiday   Download 
  4. Stalin's War: A New History of World War II  by by Sean McMeekin  . "The subtitle is slightly misleading:The reason to read McMeekin after watching “Oppenheimer” is that his book provides a corrective to the movie’s final act" per Ross Douthat'scopinion 
  5. The Gita of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by James A. Hijiya, 

My relevant blogs:


Combination of my blog for the review of the film (tjshah.blogspot.com),  review of the book "American Prometheus" on film . Travel blogs at Hiroshima (TuharInJapan.blogspot.com), Los Alamos lab  where the  bomb was developed ( Catharina America.blogspot.com) and technical basic about how the Atomic bomb, Hydrogen bomb, quantum mechanics  to be written) gives some basic about this complex weapon and Geo Politics. 

  1. My review of the book "American Prometheus
  2. My visit to Hiroshima in May 2023.  Pictures and reflection  visiting the Peace memorial foundation 
  3. My visit to Los Alamos lab on Oct 14, 2021, with pictures of Oppenheimer, Groves, Emilio Segre, the super-compressed mass of fissionable plutonium, FDR, Mahatma Gandhi, German and Japanese physicists working on nuclear forces, ; Near Robert Oppenheimer's Perro Caliente. Ranch.  Also had views of  the" Sangre de Cristo"  mountains.. He often expressed that his greatest passions were "physics and the desert landscape".
  4. https://www.lanl.gov/ Los Almos lab official website  
  5. Perro Caliente at Sangre de Cristo mountain, rural northern New Mexico, where Oppenheimer had a ranch, and he loved to be there ( To be added) 
  6. Basic physics of Atom Bombs  Hydrogen Bomb, Quantum mechanics,Physicists interacted with Oppenheimer    ( TusharInStem.blogspot.com)


 

































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