Chernobyl (2019)
(miniseries 5 episodes 60–72 minutes)

Directed by: Johan Renck
Language: English

Rating: 2/10 | Yaser Tohidi
August 12, 2019

Chernobyl is a historical drama trying to dramatizes the story of the April 1986 nuclear plant disaster which occurred in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Soviet Union), however it fails to do so because it fails, to the large extent, in following a dramatic story. 
The main story line is the denial by the Soviet Union officials about the extent of the disaster. But this story line is referred to only in few dialogues and scenes and there is not enough dramatic evidence. On the other hand, in some cases we see full support for addressing the incident from highest officials. Then, this story line gives way to a new one: what was the main cause of the incident and how to reveal that in spite of KGB monitoring? Again here, without much drama, the story line is concluded and the main cause is revealed in the court. Apart from these two main story lines, sometimes you want to follow the story of the people involved in the disaster but it does not happen and instead, the miniseries depicts some of the lesser known stories of the disaster as if it's goal is just to inform you about them and does not want you to be involved with the stories of the people. This is in contrast with the form of the miniseries, i.e. the mise en scène implies dramatic stories but they are not followed. Mise en scène does not imply a fact-by-fact documentary for an incident.
Anyhow, Chernobyl depicts eye-catching pictures of the incident, logistics, hospitals and official buildings of Soviet Union. 
If you want to know a bit more about the Chernobyl disaster - and you don't care about the legitimacy of the story being told or you will follow it up later -  this miniseries is for you. But if you want to watch a series in which people's stories keep you engaged for some time, Chernobyl is not for you.


Click here for wikipedia page