I feel like there’s not enough films about a nuclear apocalypse.
You could argue that 1984’s BBC TV movie Threads is untouchable in these stakes, but now 40 years later and with how the world has changed, there are plenty more stories to tell.
Luis Dols De Jong’s Dutch TV movie Amsterdam Alert, is one of these unique stories. We follow a mother who has to head across town to get her spare key from her mother after being locked out of her apartment with her baby inside; what she doesn’t know as she leaves is that Amsterdam, where the film is based, is now on countdown to a nuclear strike.
Unlike Threads, the particulars aren’t fleshed out, and De Jong focuses much more on the chaos, paranoia and desperation for survival that this news brings as people collectively receive a text message to evacuate the city.
What is also unique about this short film (a mere 38 minutes), is that the incidents play out in real-time and we as the audience countdown with the characters as things get closer to the strike.
Those who can’t escape, with roads blocked and people charging around, seek refuge underground which provides our sub-plot as supermarket security attempt to house a handful of people in their basement floor, but the desperation and greed in some cases to ensure ‘everyone’ survives is their undoing. How do you choose between one person and another?
In one case a woman even feigns being pregnant to jump the queue. Never underestimate humans when it comes to survival, I guess.
De Jong’s film really gets under your skin once the streets are largely empty and crashed cars and rubbish flash by in the wind as we prepare for the inevitable.
Why it doesn’t tear your heart out as much as Threads, Amsterdam Alert is a timely reminder that nuclear deterrents should be just that and never be used as weapons as their devastation is something that can never be undone.
Amsterdam Alert screened as part of Grimmfest 2024.
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