Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Steve West The Chernobyl reactor itself is seen briefly, and from a distance, to give you an idea of what this documentary is about. Some senior citizens living in the area are interviewed, and the rest of the time is spent in orphanages and hospitals in nearby Belarus, as radiation seems to take the greatest toll on growing or developing bodies. In line with another HBO documentary I've seen, Hacking Democracy, Chernobyl Heart does not have the production values of a HBO television series.If you are easily disturbed by seeing deformities from radiation then it might be better to give this a miss, but even so it shows the disaster that has befallen Belarus (of which Chernobyl borders), which does not have enough funding of its healthcare system to handle all the victims. "Chernobyl Heart" is the name for a hole in the heart condition and the crew visit an American surgeon who repairs this condition with a $300 heart valve patch which Belarus can only afford a limited number of.

xoleyton Chernobyl Heart is a reflection of the growing dis-ease spreading like a cancer around planet earth....we think that because we don't know about the acute suffering of children,and others, thousands of miles away, or are not aware of the severe poisoning of a portion of Mother Earth's body, that it does not directly affect us. But like any cancer that begins to grow in our body, we are usually not aware of it's presence until it reaches a certain critical point...then we begin to FEEL it directly and can no longer deny its existence. What will it take for us to collectively wake up from our self-absorbed coma that refuses to understand anything at all until it's too late. We can donate our money or time in helping victims of disasters, and this is always needed, but why is this never enough? Have we not noticed that throwing money at calamitous situations never seems to solve the systemic problem of greed and corruption in the consciousness of MEN basically in charge of running everything on this planet? Maybe we all need to awaken our OWN Chernobyl Heart, first............before it is too late.

planet_mamoo When you think of the Chernobyl disaster, you probably think of blurry 80s footage of the ruined reactor, of guys in gas masks evacuating local residents, or the abandoned "zone of exclusion" around the site.But this film offers another perspective: the horrendous legacy of the radiation cloud -- many times worse than Hiroshima -- that continues to affect the lives of millions of people in the region, especially the semi-hermit kingdom of Belarus.*** SPOILER ALERT ***And of those affected by the radioactive particles, none are suffering more than the children. Soaring levels of birth defects, thyroid cancer and heart defects (the film was named after the nickname given to the heart defects).The filmmakers follow the medical and aid workers as they work with these children. It often seems like trying to build sandcastles against a gargantuan tide, and no one seems to go unaffected. Mental retardation, doomed youngsters, tragic parents, traumatized medical staffers ... at times it seems too much.You'll never see a documentary more emotionally wrenching than this. But it's completely worth it. Well made, without polish or a soundtrack. And the short length was a wise choice ... much more would just make it impossible to watch.Watch this documentary if you get the chance. You won't regret it. And it might just change your life.

thesaint80 To say I was affected by Chernobyl Heart would be putting it mildly. Like many people I imagine, I first viewed Chernobyl Heart on HBO and was reduced to tears at the sight of so many suffering children. It is beyond cliché, however watching children suffer so makes me feel like rubbish for ever complaining about anything in my life. On a positive note, I did begin to involve myself with the Chernobyl Children's Project International, and last Christmas donated money and collected money at my job for their obviously worthwhile cause. Now that I'm back at school, I hope I might continue my work with the organisation. I didn't mean to turn this into a plug for CCPI, however it goes hand in glove with watching such an inspiring film.