| |
INTO ETERNITY is a mind-bending film
that explores the utter impossibility of storing nuclear waste
for 100,000 years, the time estimated by scientists to render
it safe. It is, on the one hand, a documentary about the Onkalo
storage facility presently under construction in Finland,
and on the other hand, a startlingly beautiful work of art
and an urgent provocation that ponders the question of who
– or what – will remain on this earth when that
time frame has elapsed.
 “I
am tempted to call Into Eternity the most interesting
documentary, and one of
the most disturbing films,
of the year so far...” –
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“It is meant
to boggle the mind and inspire awe—and it does. As in
2001 or The Time Machine, the story of the
human race comes full circle. The unknown past meets the unknowable
future in a wintry ground zero.”
–
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
“Intellectually
and aesthetically ravishing! It’s a horror movie. Sophisticated
and fascinating.”
–
Henry Stewart, The L Magazine
Onkalo is a gigantic network of underground tunnels presently
being hewn out of the bedrock in Finland. The tunnels will
be filled with high-level radioactive waste, which must be
kept isolated from human beings and other live organisms for
at least 100.000 years. Not only must the facility last 10
times longer than any manmade construction ever, it must also
be able to resist all thinkable climate changes, erosion,
and evolution. The real challenge, however, is to secure the
facility from human intrusion. But can we ensure that? How
is it possible to warn future man of the waste we left behind?
How do we prevent them from thinking they have found the pyramids
of our time, mystical burial grounds, hidden treasures? Which
languages and signs will they understand, and if they understand,
will they respect our instructions?
These are among the many thought-provoking questions pondered
in INTO ETERNITY.
“SPECTACULAR
visuals, mind-boggling concepts.
What more could you want from a movie?"
– Chris Chang, Film Comment
“ **** JAW-DROPPING!
Tackles a subject almost
beyond comprehension ….
Why isn’t every government, every philosopher, every
theologian, everywhere in the world discussing Onkalo and
its implications?
I don’t know, but they should see this film.”
– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)
| ''Onkalo (Finnish for “hiding place”)
is under construction: it’s a cavernous world of
tunnels and corridors, a permanent storage facility for
nuclear waste, meant to last 100,000 years. (That’s
20 times as long as the pyramids have so far.) Conceptual
artist Michael Madsen’s film is a creepy, eerily
elegant meditation on human folly, punctuated by philosophical
and historical references, that asks: how do you keep
3,000 future generations from inadvertently opening this
Pandora’s Box? Should markers be posted in every
language or in hieroglyphics that say “keep out”?
(Someone suggests Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”
might work nicely.) Would it be better not to post any
notice and hope no one will chance upon it? And what about
the Ice Age predicted to occur in a mere 60,000 years?
Will the weight of the ice impact the structural integrity
of Onkalo? If you thought the BP oil spill was scary…'' |
| -
Karen Cooper, Director, Film Forum |
“CRITIC’S PICK. Madsen’s
unconventional approach makes the already fascinating subject
matter even eerier and more disturbing.”
– Miranda Siegel, New York Magazine
“ *** 1⁄2” Radical and
Stunning. Doesn't play like a documentary at all. Watching
the film is akin to having a totally immersive, video game-like
experience, a journey best described as Lord of the Rings
meets 2001: A Space Odyssey. Time seems to stand
still.”
–
Lauren Wissot, Slant Magazine
“Takes pleasure in blowing your
mind in the most beautiful way possible.
A film as poetic as it is educational. Innovative filmmaking
at its utmost.”
–
Benny Gammerman, Ology.com
“What animates the film is the otherworldliness
of the under-construction project, and the paradoxes the finished
Onkalo will embody.”
–
Mark Jenkins, npr.org |
|
