Into Eternity

I recently watched a new film by director Michael Madsen, Into Eternity. The film follows the construction of the Nuclear waste storage facility Onkalo in Finland. Scientists at Onkalo have determined that the best way to store nuclear waste is under the ground. The facility allows waste to be stored approximately 5 kilometres under the earth and then sealed off and covered so that no one will ever find it.

With the believed lifespan of nuclear waste being about 100,000, Onkalo has been built with a vision to withstand the years, and considering the pyramids we built approximately 4,000 years ago, this is some feat. Of course, civilisation could be very different in 100,000 years and throughout the film Madsen is constantly asking questions of how to inform poeple of the whereabouts of the waste so that care can be taken when approaching the area in the future.

Stylistically the film looks stunning, the use of slow motion and Kraftwerk-esq music portrays a careful and clinical process which cannot be bound by time. Madsen uses interviews with scientists and Onkalo directors who at times are comical in their apparent complacency, almost as if the question of warnings and future generations has never even been contemplated.