Film Review: Countdown to Zero

Director: Lucy Walker

A documentary film that was released in early 2011 in the UK which features interviews with numerous former world leaders such as Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev and Jimmy Carter to name just a few. They discuss the huge increase in the threat of nuclear weapons due to the number of countries that have developed nuclear weapons. It also looks at previous incidents where nuclear material has fallen into the wrong hands due to illegal trading and poorly secured sites in places like Russia. The ending of the film included a text number you could message to join the protest against the huge arsenal of nuclear weapons held in certain countries and the lax security surrounding them.

The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010 but was screened out of the competition before also being accepted to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival again out of competition.

Movie Poster

As a film it is still incredibly relevant in this world of global terrorism, Al-Qaeda have made it no secret that they would like to harness the power of nuclear weapons for mass terrorism. The illegal trade of nuclear material is extremely prevalent but has been slowed by more stings operated by organisations like the FBI and CIA.

There is absolutely no doubting the quality of research that has gone into making this movie and the recruiting of some of the most powerful men in World politics to be interviewed. This really helps reinforce the anti-nuclear message that the film is promoting.

3/4 extremely informative yet worrying documentary