Into Eternity: A Film for the Future

The documentary 'Nuclear Eternity' poses some interesting questions about a fascinating project currently underway in Finland, to bury nuclear waste deep beneath the ground so that it can decay over 100,000 years. On one hand, this can be seen as admirably far-sighted; on the other hand, our normal inability to see further than 100,000 seconds, and the very fact that Finland alone will fill this massive repository within just one century, might seem to point to the stupidity of producing nuclear waste in the first place, and to the certainty that humanity is doomed not to survive for so long a period (for sure, the species might be 4 million years old, but civilisation dates back less than 10,000 years). The film shows us lots of pictures of nuclear facilities, and gives us thoughtful interviews with serious sounding (mostly Finnish) scientists; but ultimately, all they can do is ponder the same unanswerable questions as the rest of us. This isn't a great documentary; but it is both humbling and scary.

Director and presenter Michael Madsden (not the same person as the actor of that name) has made a documentary film which may well be unique. Everyone should see it, because it concerns the future of our species and our planet, and it is not a superficial film by any means. He has adopted a moody Alain Resnais-style approach to the subject of the storage of nuclear waste for a necessary 100,000 years. This is not a propaganda film against nuclear energy at all. No comment is made for or against nuclear energy. I cannot understand the bizarre, I might almost say mad, review by a Latvian who claimed that this film was hilarious. Normally I would never criticize a review by another person, but this is such an extreme instance that comment really is required. This film is so far from being hilarious that how anyone could think so is inconceivable to me, and I am forced to doubt the person's sanity. Perhaps the Latvian reviewer is one of those people who would laugh hysterically upon witnessing the end of the world. Madsden evokes a powerful atmosphere in this film, showing haunting shots of the underground Onkalo ('Hidden Place') site in Finland where nuclear waste will be stored. The most effective parts of the film however are the amazing interviews with the Finnish and Swedish scientists and technologists (all in English). They are most impressive and deeply thoughtful people. The things revealed in this film about this important subject are truly mind-boggling. The film has an elegiac feel about it, as if it were a message to some future species about who and what the extinct humans once were. The Finns should leave a copy of the film in their underground caverns, in case they are ever entered tens of thousands of years from now. We should also put DVDs of this film into satellites which we send into deep space, as a kind of sad testament to a failed species, in the hope that some other species might find them one day and figure out how to view them, and learn the pathetic lessons of our inability to think sufficiently deeply, which is the fatal flaw of our human kind. Meanwhile, this film should be shown in all schools all over the world with the utmost urgency, and screened on all serious television channels in every country. But of course none of this will happen. I write as someone who has tried so far unsuccessfully to introduce crucial new technology into the storage of nuclear waste. The monstrous complacency and stupidity which I have encountered forces me to face the possibility that our species may become extinct within 100 years. I say this with sad resignation.

okay, I'm a huge fan of documentaries, but Into Eternity is just a killer.

It's not the fact that it is well grounded and has it's facts together.

what really really hit me was the visual work combined with the music. this documentary is now my most favorite Sci-Fi film. the scenes are disturbingly furturistic with a mix of post-apocalyptic elements. you feel a constant threat looming over your head while watching this amazingly beautiful film. time unfolds as Madsen leads you into a project that wants to endure longer than the modern man. and for the first time in my life I felt really small and grabbed the scope of the world we're living in. 100.000 years is an awful long time, and it is a bold move to try to achieve something this lasting.

watch the film, relax and let it just take you away for 90 minutes. I dó not regret it. and I'm definitely going to see it again. and again. and again

Looking sometimes more like Ridly Scotts Allan than an environmental film this gentle documentary about the vast takes you through a sometimes surreal vogue of discovery. What to do with a substance so toxic it must be hidden for 100,000 years, it must survive war and ice age. Written as a video letter to future generations the direction, conceptual artist and filmmaker Michael Madsen, takes you through a visually stunning and thought provoking journey. This may seem like a dry subject but his understated and sometimes playful approach to the subject draws you in keeping you engaged thought.

The film includes interviews with nuclear scientists and government representatives which take you into the strange world of thinking further into the future than we have ever dared to venture before. There is a candid honesty here that may alter your perception about our responsibilities.

This haunting film may well become a testimony to our inability to see the real cost of nuclear power yet it remains totally non judgemental thought.

Even if you have no interest in where energy comes from or in nuclear technology, this documentary is so beautifully filmed and produced that there is enjoyment in just watching it.

The core question posed by this documentary is: how do you warn countless future generations, for 100,000 years to stay away from the radioactive waste? The documentary maker asks questions of the people involved. Their responses are often chilling.

There is also some dark humor in it - the expressions on the faces of the nuclear power executives when asked what happens after hundreds or thousands of years have passed.

An extremely important documentary for this moment in history. Everyone should watch this.