The Sleep of reason

The exploding of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 made possible the apocalyptic extermination of the human race. This complex and moving documentary traces the history of human visions of “apocalypse”. Through an exploration of the vast canvases of Heironymous Bosch and Bruegel, the Japanese “monster” movies of the 1950s and the home-movies taken at the Nevada site at Las Alamos where the first nuclear tests were undertaken, “The Sleep of Reason” is an insight into the unconscious fears that underlie religious myths of punishment and redemption. However, the explosion of the bomb over Hiroshima dragged the apocalypse from mythology into reality and since that cataclysmic event, humanity has had to learn to live with the knowledge that it has the power to destroy itself. Filmed in the rebuilt city of Hiroshima, the film interviews philosopher George Steiner, psychoanalyst Robert Lifton, art historian Donald Kuspit and film writer Vivian Sobchack who all offer interpretations on how the bomb has affected global culture. An excerpt from an interview with Robert Oppenheimer, who breaks into tears as he talks about his work on creating the atomic bomb, is also included in this remarkable film.