LETTERS FROM A DEAD MAN

Letters From A Dead Man, shot before the Chernobyl disaster and released soon afterwards, has been dubbed the Soviet Day After. Variety noted that it was as intense as the American film, but much more cerebral in its treatment of the aftermath of nuclear catastrophe. The story begins after the button has been pushed, when a Soviet technician, choking on his coffee, could not give a counter-order quickly enough. The film alternates between an underground bunker formerly a museum and a twilight upper world, where gas-masked black marketeers trade medicine and play roulette among the rubble. The main character, an elderly Nobel prizewinner, is the 'dead man' of the title, who writes imaginary letters to his son. affirming his belief in the essential goodness of humanity. Instead of seeking shelter, he throws in his lot with a group of mute orphans living in the ruins of a church.