Mia Stapleton
Unto Midnight is much more than an anti-war production. Accompanied by a tone of looming fear and prediction, the viewer is immediately immersed into the chilling, yet poignant, message of mankind’s journey into ruin. This is a warning, a prediction, a fear. We live in paranoia of the nightmare that is the future.
Annihilation
At no point does Unto Midnight tiptoe around the fate of death, caused by the complete and utter destruction at the hands of humans. Directed by Callum Wilkins, the film directly conveys that annihilation is a routine. Despite how much we learn from our mistakes, the biggest lesson of all will seemingly never sink in. Therefore old trends will forever be repeated.
“Wilkins redirects our way of thinking”
War is, as we know, normalised. It feels dehumanising to point it out. We have seen it, lived it, and breathed it. Yet we are in the presence of a new and different type of genocide.
Wilkins redirects our way of thinking, with worldwide famous catastrophic events, such as the film’s focus on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and nuclear war, to understand the true chilling depth and horror experienced from humanity’s relationship with a self-destructive nature.
Raw Footage
“the idea of war is so inhumane, despite becoming falsely ‘human'”
The terror created by war is shown through detailed, raw footage taken at the time of these historical events. Eloquently coupled with an unsettling narration (Peter Jakeson), the prominence and nature of a potential looming nuclear holocaust are portrayed.
We are reminded throughout how the idea of war is so inhumane, despite becoming falsely ‘human.’ Ethics are thrown out of the window. As the peace, prosperity, and providence that are promised by war, are only misleading.
Wilkins describes the impacts of nuclear warfare with an intentionally false sense of morale: “They gathered at that barren wasteland, but for what cause? The cause, they say, was peace.” Then moving on to contrast this with by far one of the most powerful points of the documentary. We see images of the aftermath of war, and the weapons that create it. To which the narrator says “…peace that burns at 100 million degrees Celsius,’ in reference to a nuclear bomb explosion.”
Thought-provoking
“forces the question of what humanity’s relationship is with destruction”
Unto Midnight forces the question of what humanity’s relationship is with destruction, and whether it is what we are destined for. The thought alone is haunting, and this point becomes ever so prevalent when shown with the still images.
“There was nothing” is one quote that Wilkins uses to describe the aftermath of Hiroshima, as those across the world celebrated and cheered, as an entire city was left barren.
The “nightmare” of was is something that Wilkins presumably feels personally, and the film is transformed into something that begins to feel personal to the viewer. Their nightmare very quickly becomes your own, if it wasn’t already.
Featured image courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Mia Stapleton
Mia is a current Journalism student at the University of Leeds. She specialises in radio, entertainment, and sport. She also loves analysing a film, and is never without a good book!