Atomic Cafe': A Documentary Review

The Atomic Café is an interesting look at the astounding amount of focus thrown on to the atomic bomb after its use to end World War II. Directed by two men, Jayne Loader and Kevin Rafferty, the film was released worldwide in 1982 with moderately excellent reception. Loader and Rafferty use a many techniques of accomplished documentary producer and director Frederick Wiseman to accompany their own film. Overall, however, while they do possess enough talent to create a rather memorable film, they simply do not have the artistic abilities Mr. Wiseman owns.
The film’s one concurrent theme throughout, is the contrast between the destructive power the atomic bomb holds, and the ridiculous safety measures the government provided to its citizens and soldiers. The directors effectively hold the audiences interest by switching between the two views, first the power and effect of the atomic bomb, then the false sense of security provided by the government. This technique promotes the filmmakers main theme well, and at the same time, does still hold that ever elusive creature that is the audience’s attention. This ever changing comparison and contrast is very similar to present day documentarian Michael Moore’s style. The difference being the lack of transitional commentary Moore provides, versus the process of letting the film speak for itself that Loader and Rafferty use. It is unfortunate; Atomic Café could have used a little witty commentary.
It is this lack of traditional narration that nearly kills Atomic Café. As I mentioned previously, Loader and Rafferty use some of Wiseman’s techniques, most prominent being the act of letting the film speak for itself. The problem with this is that the filmmakers lose much of their control in the overall presentation of their piece. Wiseman managed to accomplish this without too many split hairs in High School, mainly due to the fact that he still was able to exercise control over what was shot and how it was used. Loader and Rafferty, because they were, obviously, not able to capture their own footage, were already heavily reliant on what had already been shot. They did not have Wiseman’s ability to capture the audience’s attention with varying camera techniques. If one includes their lack of narration, they only have control over what exact clips to use and how to edit those pieces, which is one of the few flaws of the piece.
Their apparent goal in creating the film was to present the fact that the American public in the 1950’s had no idea the destructive power of the atomic bomb. It is therefore not their focus to promote either the dangers of the atomic bomb or the government’s attempts to alleviate fear of the atomic bomb; we already know both of these things. Much like Moore’s object in Bowling for Columbine was not to promote how dangerous guns can be, nor to promote harsher gun laws, but to link violence and fear together. Therefore I am not sure that Loader and Rafferty had to be so worried about making sure the truth was being told, as to completely throw out the idea of narration. They got their message across the way in The Atomic Café, but could it have been better with a narrator? I suppose it would depend on the nature of the narrator, but I would be inclined to think it would.
Cinema verite simply became too much of a crutch in this particular film, for, overall, it has many propogandic elements that would have been much more efficiently exploited with more traditional film styles. For Wiseman, it was needed in a much more dramatic fashion, for, when questioning something of no ill report, evidence is more highly valued. In The Atomic Café, the message the filmmakers were trying to get across did not warrant the importance shown on having such hard core evidence. Certainly truth is important, while it may not always contribute to the overall effectiveness of the piece; one can never go wrong with stating the truth. It is just that in this film, the focus on it was unneeded.
Overall however, the film was good. It achieved its presentation of its themes with admirable success. The directors selected and edited the film in a way that, for the most part, grabbed the audience’s attention. Unfortunately, it simply did not have the unforgettable appeal of Wiseman’s camera techniques nor Moore’s equally unforgettable knack at finding situations so provocatively supportive of his chosen message. Atomic Café is an excellent documentary by documentary standards, but it is far from a truly magnificent film.