Wonderful explanation, from a unique point of view. I was very interested in lesson 2, sense of perspective: “With all due compassion to Oppenheimer’s unjust sufferings… God bless America!”. Very interesting to read about the deeper meaning behind the Oppenheimer movie.
Thank you. My perspective may be strange for most people in the free world, but for anybody who became an adult in Russia, such comparisons are unavoidable. I'm glad you saw this film as a family - it's worth it.
Wonderful work! I really appreciate your explanation of the fictional scene between Oppenheimer and Einstein at the lake. This article really clarified the movie and the historic events behind it, great perspective.
Brilliant. Speaking of the fate of Nikolai Vavilov and Landau (pictured in lesson), Soviet antisemitism and anti intellectualism did to Russian science what Oppenheimer hoped would happen to the Nazi atomic program.
I like you perspective a lot. However, topic of one’s legacy is so deep, so equivocal, has so many layers. Even the best biographers have their own subjective opinion. As some said:”we see others through the prism of our own vices and egos”
I agree 100% with S.Belkovsky who said that history is a conventional discipline and we saw many times how it gets rewritten.
Zhenya, your incisive analyses add refreshing layers to cinematic experiences. The film is big, but your treatment makes the story much larger. Life lessons for all. Thank you. Yaakov S.
It's hard to comment when you agree to everything :) Very accurate and reasonable conclusions. The only item that may be disputed is Yeltsin's role in the history. I truly believe he deserves to be remembered for much more that just nominating the evil Kremlin dwarf. But this topic does not belong to discussion about the movie.
Yes! Thank you for taking time to read the whole thing and comment. As I told you, an important part of experiencing this film for the first time was that I was sitting next to you - another brilliant Jewish emigrant-engineer.
What’s wrong with intriguing the readers? When you revive your own wonderful magazine (you have 27 days now), they’ll see that the comparison is valid.
What do you mean by "magazine"? Livejournal? Well, I wrote there some book review recently but I doubt I will create a lot of content. And this is in our mother tongue anyway :)
Zhenia your "lessons" are indeed thought provoking. i agree - in terms of historical perspective - it s very believable, even when it deriviates from facts. maybe after all oppenheimer is essentially cinema d'auteur with non narrative sensibilities (in the disguise of hollywood production, with big studio technological opportunities, but without obvious formulas or predictable clishes). very classy and sometimes cathartic experiance. several years ago i watched documentary by c nolan about brothers quay, that s how i discovered this director/filmmaker. since that he never made me disappointed and oppenheimer is another genuine achievement of his. thanks for starting / provoking this discussion.
Wonderful explanation, from a unique point of view. I was very interested in lesson 2, sense of perspective: “With all due compassion to Oppenheimer’s unjust sufferings… God bless America!”. Very interesting to read about the deeper meaning behind the Oppenheimer movie.
Thank you. My perspective may be strange for most people in the free world, but for anybody who became an adult in Russia, such comparisons are unavoidable. I'm glad you saw this film as a family - it's worth it.
Wonderful work! I really appreciate your explanation of the fictional scene between Oppenheimer and Einstein at the lake. This article really clarified the movie and the historic events behind it, great perspective.
Thank you! I'm glad you saw it as a family. It's not an easy film to digest, but it's worth the effort, I think.
Brilliant. Speaking of the fate of Nikolai Vavilov and Landau (pictured in lesson), Soviet antisemitism and anti intellectualism did to Russian science what Oppenheimer hoped would happen to the Nazi atomic program.
(Pictured in lesson 2)
I like you perspective a lot. However, topic of one’s legacy is so deep, so equivocal, has so many layers. Even the best biographers have their own subjective opinion. As some said:”we see others through the prism of our own vices and egos”
I agree 100% with S.Belkovsky who said that history is a conventional discipline and we saw many times how it gets rewritten.
Keep up a great conversations!
Thank you for this elegant, thoughtful comment. Having rare readers like you makes the agony of writing worthwhile.
Zhenya, your incisive analyses add refreshing layers to cinematic experiences. The film is big, but your treatment makes the story much larger. Life lessons for all. Thank you. Yaakov S.
Thank you! To get that from a writer of your caliber is very encouraging.
Very much enjoyed your always interesting POV, deeply informed in the arts, politics and basic humanity. Please keep it up
Thank you for your support, feedback and friendship!
It's hard to comment when you agree to everything :) Very accurate and reasonable conclusions. The only item that may be disputed is Yeltsin's role in the history. I truly believe he deserves to be remembered for much more that just nominating the evil Kremlin dwarf. But this topic does not belong to discussion about the movie.
Yes! Thank you for taking time to read the whole thing and comment. As I told you, an important part of experiencing this film for the first time was that I was sitting next to you - another brilliant Jewish emigrant-engineer.
OMG do not mislead other readers by an idea I may be compared even with a toe of the great Oppenheimer...
What’s wrong with intriguing the readers? When you revive your own wonderful magazine (you have 27 days now), they’ll see that the comparison is valid.
What do you mean by "magazine"? Livejournal? Well, I wrote there some book review recently but I doubt I will create a lot of content. And this is in our mother tongue anyway :)
Yes, livejournal! I'm glad you're still doing it - please send the link!
https://hahi.livejournal.com/305212.html
Zhenia your "lessons" are indeed thought provoking. i agree - in terms of historical perspective - it s very believable, even when it deriviates from facts. maybe after all oppenheimer is essentially cinema d'auteur with non narrative sensibilities (in the disguise of hollywood production, with big studio technological opportunities, but without obvious formulas or predictable clishes). very classy and sometimes cathartic experiance. several years ago i watched documentary by c nolan about brothers quay, that s how i discovered this director/filmmaker. since that he never made me disappointed and oppenheimer is another genuine achievement of his. thanks for starting / provoking this discussion.