Image: Wiki
I have a few minutes to write and a bit of motivation, which has been, sadly, lacking of late. I have to recommend a film that, today, is its last day(free) on Amazon Prime. The film is 1983’s, “Testament”, directed by Lynn Littman. I stand by my view that it is the best film to show the horrors of an all out nuclear war.
There are no pictures shown of melting buildings, nor destruction from the bombs of any kind. Just the aftermath. It takes place in a fictional suburb near San Francisco where the bombs seemingly fell. The film is very human centered. It’s a poignant portrayal of a mother trying to hold her children together as a family for as long as she can. Jane Alexander gives a performance worthy of Oscar attention. It also has some early work of future stars, Kevin Costner being the most famous now. I read where the work on the film changed some of his(Kevin’s) ideas on nuclear war. It certainly did mine back in ‘83 when it aired on PBS.
It’s been 39 years since the film was released and it still brought a bunch of tears after all these years and multiple viewings. Heavy stuff, to say the least. Spoiler alert! Simply, everybody eventually dies. It blows “The Day After”
This was back during the Cold War and President Reagan trashed detente and heated up the tensions with the Soviet Union considerably. The 70’s were better with the end of the ‘Nam and detente with the Soviet Union; ushered in by the last liberal President, Richard Nixon. Which the CIA took out. Assassinations falling of of fashion in the 70’s. (Chomsky—on Nixon)
The whole scene scared the shit right out of me back then. I still sleep with the TV on—just in case. If I’m to be vaporized, and Albuquerque, NM, where I live, is a prime target for the missiles—I want a warning. There were no real warnings in the film. Just a few false warnings as pointed out by Mr. Weatherly at the breakfast table to his wife and children. Understated, and heart wrenching.
The TV film, “The Day After”, also aired that year. I don’t remember much of it. “Testament”, was better in my opinion—it struck a nerve and stuck in my fading memory banks. I will see if I can find, “The Day After”, for free on my various services.
Never mind the image not found messages at the bottom. Is Pixabay defunct?
There are many post apocalyptic films, where folks survive.(Like George Miller’s, 1981, Road Warrior”.) “Testament” is more like Lars von Trier’s, 2011 film, “Melancholia”, without the extra planet crashing into Earth. I’m drawn to dark subjects, it’s in my nature I guess. Lars has three films in a dark trilogy. His, “Antichrist”, is extra heavy. “Diary of a Nymphomanic”, parts 1 & 2, rounds out his dark trilogy. Two of these stream sometimes, I had to purchase the DVD for Antichrist.
Maybe my age is catching up with me, I just see the dark things. I do appreciate the good though—the parts of humankind I’d like to go on for a while after I’m gone. I actually watched a comedy, James Liman’s, “Go”, 1999,(Showtime), full of up and coming stars. It’s amazing how young they all look. I like good films for one and music. Which also plays a roll in the above film—a piano. James Horner’s score for the film is stellar also.
It’s movie time. My eyes are tired of looking at the small screen of my aging PC, so on to the movies. I may get HBO Max next month. I’ll drop a few small streaming services to cover the cost.
Have a Happy New Year, all. Be kind and stay safe.
Peace, The Ol’ Hippy
Thanks for the tip, John. Have a Happy New Year (in spite of reality).
Ray Milland's PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO was a good show; but TESTAMENT sounds even better. I'm going to watch it right now.