eatfirst Michael (no not that one) Madsen's fascinating and thought provoking study of the problems of long-term storage of nuclear waste material could be presumed to fall into one of two documentary formats. A: The dry scientific lecture, a-la Horizon, or B: The Michael Moore-style charged polemic. Surprisingly it resembles neither of these so much as it does the stately and poetical science-fiction of Andrei Tarkovsky.Taking as his subject, the huge and potentially world-leading Finnish project to bury their waste in permanent underground storage caverns, the focus of the story swiftly moves on from preliminaries such as the logistics of construction, to the unexpectedly rich philosophical question of how we communicate the meaning and danger of such a place over its unimaginably vast intended lifespan of a hundred-thousand years. Michael frames his entire presentation as a message to some far- flung civilisation, twenty times more removed from our own than we are from those who built the pyramids. Telling the story of how we buried "the fire we could not extinguish" as an eloquent and profoundly moving legend, to be passed down from generation to generation... of the place, as he so beautifully expresses it, that we must always remember to forget.

WillWong101 Even if you have no interest in where energy comes from or in nuclear technology, this documentary is so beautifully filmed and produced that there is enjoyment in just watching it.The core question posed by this documentary is: how do you warn countless future generations, for 100,000 years to stay away from the radioactive waste? The documentary maker asks questions of the people involved. Their responses are often chilling.There is also some dark humor in it - the expressions on the faces of the nuclear power executives when asked what happens after hundreds or thousands of years have passed.An extremely important documentary for this moment in history. Everyone should watch this.

funkytwig Looking sometimes more like Ridly Scotts Allan than an environmental film this gentle documentary about the vast takes you through a sometimes surreal vogue of discovery. What to do with a substance so toxic it must be hidden for 100,000 years, it must survive war and ice age. Written as a video letter to future generations the direction, conceptual artist and filmmaker Michael Madsen, takes you through a visually stunning and thought provoking journey. This may seem like a dry subject but his understated and sometimes playful approach to the subject draws you in keeping you engaged thought.The film includes interviews with nuclear scientists and government representatives which take you into the strange world of thinking further into the future than we have ever dared to venture before. There is a candid honesty here that may alter your perception about our responsibilities.This haunting film may well become a testimony to our inability to see the real cost of nuclear power yet it remains totally non judgemental thought.

dbborroughs One of the better films screening at this years Tribeca film festival is a meditation on what we should do with the nuclear waste that's left behind. More specifically it's what Finland is doing with their nuclear waste. What the country is doing is digging a miles deep tomb in which they hope to bury all of their waste so that it will hopefully remain undisturbed for the 100 or more thousand years it will need to decay and become safe.The film, which is more an essay in the form of a letter to future generations, is a trippy affair with some of the most haunting marriages of image and music you are likely to find. The film masterfully ponders what are our options for waste such as this and how do we protect our children's children's children from its dangers. I love how filmmaker Michael Madsen draws you in as if it's a fairy tale and forces you to think. He also scores many pints for presenting the people who are responsible for the project as human beings who are far from certain, but trying the best they can. Its nice to see a bunch of experts with the willies scared out of them.If there is any flaw in the film its perhaps that its 75 minute running time is a couple minutes too long. But that is a quibble. This is a film that should be seen, preferably on a big screen in the dark where the imagery will work its way into your brain.Okay- how good is the film? Out of the 11 films I saw at Tribeca so far this was the first and only film where no one moved when the end credits rolled. Everyone just sat there staring at the screen. Everyone seemed to want to stay to talk to the filmmaker at the Q&A. (except for the few of us who peeled ourselves out of our chairs to make trains or other screenings)