For those who have never put much thought into the ongoing threat of nuclear annihilation, there are bound to be plenty of unsettling surprises in Lucy Walker's sobering documentary Countdown to Zero; the biggest revelation for the rest of us, however, may be that this is the first documentary to address the issue in such a direct, comprehensive manner since Dr. Robert Oppenheimer initially discovered the true destructive force of his powerful creation back in July of 1945.
Occasionally dry due to an overreliance on "talking head"-style interviews -- yet frequently chilling thanks to compelling historical anecdotes and candid reflections by former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter -- Walker's film hits the ground running with an account of Dr. Oppenheimer's initial skepticism about the possibility of splitting the atom, followed by President John F. Kennedy's famous quote denouncing atomic weaponry as a "nuclear sword of Damocles" that "hangs over the head of every man, woman, and child." An unsettling montage of terrorist attacks culminates in footage of the smoldering World Trade Center site and an interview with former CIA Covert Operations Officer Valerie Plame Wilson stating just how devastating that and other attacks could have been had the perpetrators succeeded in acquiring nuclear weapons, and the discussion is then opened up to numerous experts and historical commentators. While man-on-the-street interviews indicate that public awareness regarding nuclear weapons is sorely lacking, subsequent information regarding the relative ease of acquiring nuclear materials makes viewers realize just how lucky we are that the stakes haven't been raised that high just yet.
If knowledge is indeed power, Countdown to Zero aims to give the viewer as much power as possible by offering a detailed history of nuclear proliferation while at the same time educating us about the true destructive power of the bomb. A detailed dissection of Kennedy's quote offers ample opportunity to explore some of the numerous accidents and miscalculations that nearly plunged the world into global thermonuclear war, though detailed information regarding the inner workings of an atom bomb seems a bit superfluous. Had Walker really wanted to make an impact, she might have excised the technical details, and delved into the lingering effects of radiation and fallout on nature and society as a whole; knowing the mechanics of a nuclear bomb is of no use to the vast majority of viewers, but realizing the true extent of the damage done by the weapon -- the details that come after the blast -- would be beneficial for everyone. Walker barely skims the surface in this respect, only touching on the problems of no electricity and a lack of medical care. By concluding with a deluge of smart, thoughtful suggestions on how we might begin to work toward truly eliminating the nuclear threat rather than literally burying it in the ground, however, she proves her dedication to the problem by offering a proposed course of action rather than just an open-ended criticism.
So while Walker does occasionally get so caught up asking "what if" that she misses the opportunity to delve deeper into her subject, Countdown to Zero does earn points for challenging the prevailing wisdom about nuclear weapons being a deterrent rather than a risk, and for actually offering useful advice on how to create a more stable world for future generations rather than just lingering on a problem of which many are already well aware.
