Can there be beauty in an atomic bomb? Or in the explosion of a nuclear reactor? It seems to me no, but I'm going to find out tonight. At Atomic Living filmmaker/writer/presenter/producer Mark Cousins explores what that's really like, living in the atomic age. Because besides the horrors, we also have X-rays and other extremely useful medical applications.
Once again, he uses a collage for his film. As in his insane series The Story of Film, in which he showed images from well-known and unknown masterpieces to tell a different history. Not only that of white Western men, but also and especially of non-Western cinema. In the 11-hour docu-series, he showed where the most beautiful works were made: Sembene Ousmane's Africa, for example.
That bodes well for tonight's film. He is a master storyteller, although his oily Irish accent is hard to understand for some. This late at night ( the film starts at 22:15), I like to be lulled to sleep by his lilting voice. Only to be brutally woken up again by the soundtrack of Scottish band Mogwai.
What: Atomic Living by Mark Cousins
Where: Tuschinski 5, Amsterdam. Click here for cards.
English (UK) 
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