HBO’s Chernobyl is a realistic depiction of the Soviet nuclear disaster’s poignant story. While the story of Chernobyl explosion itself is complicated, the mini series depicts its well with clever use of cinematography that goes hand in hand with its main storyline.

The entire film is presented in a dark color tone — the use of dark gray filters with a hint of green shrouds most scenes. This choice of filter is very effective in that as the disaster unfolded at night (1am), the dark gray color realistically mimics the low light setting. In addition, the dark filter fits tightly with the distress of the disaster, setting up the tone of the entire film.

The first film in the series has a carefully-chosen flash-forward opening scene and a dramatic ending scene. Upon watching the film, viewers first meet a middle-aged men who comes out mysteriously at midnight and then returns to his home to commit suicide. Then with text “2 years ago” on screen, viewers are taken back to the beginning of the story. This flash-forward creates suspense in audience’s minds: viewers can’t help wondering who is he? And why does he kill himself? Then finally, as the first episode is drawing to a close, viewers witness the death of a bird who has fallen from the sky, indicating the lethal effects of uncontrolled nuclear radiation caused by the explosion.

It is in disaster like Chernobyl that the importance of responsibility is particularly highlighted. Approaching the end of the film, Legasov, chief of investigation, receives a call for technical advice. He realizes the severity of the situation and pleads for immediate investigation where as in stark contrast, the other end of telephone downplays the importance and demands him to obey the order. A similar debate occurs on the city’s Executive Committee, who eventually chose to block evacuation. The film prompts us to consider that in disasters like this, being responsible should be putting human lives first, rather than politics first. This rule applies to our current world as well, where nations have witnessed the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disasters like Chernobyl is by no means a distant event. The Beirut explosion that occurred just a month ago reminds us that negligence takes a heavy toll and safety should always be put first.