Atomic Cafe, The

 

Story:

A chilling and often hilarious reminder of Cold War-era paranoia in the United States, this film artfully compiles newsreel footage, government archives, military training films and 1950s music into a singular cinematic experience. Also covered are Washington's Communist witch hunt, the historic trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and the sagely prophetic comments of President Dwight D. Eisenhower (NetFlix).

Review:

Penned as a satire of US propaganda, Atomic Café sounds like it would be just a hodge podge of various comical clips from the 1950s.  But, while it certainly has it’s hilarious moments, don’t mistake this as a ‘best of’ tv show, this is a well edited and highly structured documentary that results in a fascinating look at how manipulation of social fears can make anyone forget the realities they face.    

Starting with the bombing of Hiroshima, the footage used in this introduction is anything but comedic.  It is graphic and at times gut wrenching as you see the shadows of victims imprinted on the sidewalk.  This is the image you are supposed to remember.  The brutality and violence generated from a single atomic bomb.  But the images Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty provide after this point are anything but serious.  For the most part, they are comical or so over the top in their fear mongering that it’s hard to take anything seriously.  In fact, within a half hour, you’ll but forget about the scary images left by the first atomic bomb, and that is what Atomic Café aims to do: lull you into comfort.    

By the end of this documentary, you’re again a witness to the images from Hiroshima, only this time they are spliced with footage from the rest of the film.  The result is this eerie feeling that you’ve been duped into complacency or worse, you feel the fears you once held were misplaced.  As the credits roll, suddenly all the chuckling you had comes into context.  The sarcasm and irony are still there, but there’s a sense of the true reality that an atomic bomb takes all the power away from individuals to survive.  It’s a harrowing thought amongst this otherwise playful film.

What makes this impact so powerful is the organization and care this trio of directors give to editing.  This is not a project thrown together by some stoner hippies hoping to get a good chuckle from their friends.  It’s clear a lot of time and energy was put into Atomic Café and the result is a quality product everyone can appreciate (even those who may be caricatured within the film).  There are a few slow moments, but they are all necessary to the overall project and if you can stay focused throughout, you’ll find a perfect starting point for a rather engaging conversation on modern history and current mindsets. 

Reviewed by Matthew Abshire for Documentary Film Online on August 03, 2009

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