The film Oppenheimer and the real-life prototype

In the summer of 2023, a film was released that made a lot of noise - quite unusually for a historical-biographical of the painting. There's even more excitement around "Oppenheimer's." turned around after his banned in Russia (although it's hard to take this ban seriously, given that this film is actively playing in many Russian cinemas...). No wonder, because the question that immediately arises is: what is the screened story Robert Oppenheimer didn't like our Ministry of Culture?

Well: there is no definite answer to this question, but we can assume that several factors were responsible: firstly, the fact that the film Americanand two, he's telling a story nuclear physicistwho created the world's most terrifying weapon... Actually - his main achievement became for Oppenheimer and his biggest disappointment of his life....

"Director's fantasies", or how history has been distorted

The plot of the film centres around the story Robert Oppenheimer - American nuclear physicist, psychopath, communist at heart and "father of the atomic bomb" (as he is called along with some other scientists in the field). Robert had a passion for nuclear physics from a young age, one could say - it was his life's work: so confusing, dark and difficult. But more on that later. He played a key role in the invention of the first nuclear weapon, which was the beginning of the world's first nuclear weapons. atomic age. Christopher Nolan's film is about this, as well as his personal experiences.

What I would like to note at once is that the film is very deep and beautiful. The director and his team did their best, because at some point the viewer notices that he begins to live the storyline along with the main character (played, by the way, by Cillian Murphy). But it was not without distortions of reality. Fortunately, the director's fantasies were not so violent, and therefore did not prevent him from reflecting the true story of Oppenheimer - albeit with small inaccuracies. A striking example is Robert's conversations with... Albert Einstein!

One invented scene involving the iconic theoretical physicist falls at the very end of the film, when the two men stand by a quiet pond on the grounds of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and Einstein warns Oppenheimer of the the fickleness of glory:

"Now it's your turn to deal with the consequences of your achievement," Einstein says.

At the end of the scene by the pond, Oppenheimer recalls worrying before the first test that "we might start a chain reaction that would destroy the whole world." Einstein nods, and Oppenheimer adds: "I think so." The conversation fictionalbut they worked together, and the script reflects their views. And yes: Robert hated his own brainchild for the rest of his life....

A grim shadow of glory.....

Oppenheimer went down in history as the father (well, one of them) of nuclear weapons. At first, he was pleased with his achievements in nuclear physics: Robert even regretted that such a powerful weapon had not been invented before - during the First World War! However, the joy was gradually replaced by anxiety and dislike for his own brainchild.....

When Oppenheimer realised what kind of destructive power carried nuclear weapons - that not all countries would use them exclusively for good - he realised that he had created a monster. This led him to go to Washington to personally deliver a letter to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. The letter expressed his desire to ban nuclear weapons.

During an interview with the president Harry S. Truman in October 1945, Oppenheimer said that he felt his hands were "bloody". Although President Truman was outraged by this statement, he later awarded Oppenheimer the Medal of Merit in 1946. But no awards, alas, no longer had value for the physicist: he felt the burden, the responsibility for the preservation of the world ... Against the background of these experiences, his already unstable mental health finally went out of control.

"On the hook for the FBI."

Although he became the pride of the United States for his development, for the rest of his life Robert Oppenheimer was a on the FBI's hook. And all because of their communist views... Yes, at heart Oppenheimer was probably an ardent communist: in any case, he stated several times that he was "associated with the communist movement". And it's true - thanks to his political views, Oppenheimer even met the love of his life, Gene Tatlockand a member of the Communist Party USA. They had a very stormy affair, which did not stop even after the physicist got married and had children! This relationship brought Robert a lot of problems - it negatively affected his family life, and also attracted to his person increased attention from the FBI ...

It is said that when Jean passed away in 1944, Oppenheimer "completely off the rails.". He was diagnosed with schizophrenia: he became a withdrawn, secretive, anxious and gloomy man - a genius to the general public and the very real social outcast in a narrower circle ....

However, black sheep Robert had been since childhood: his peers bullied him because of his overly gentle and quiet nature, his teachers didn't like his insistent and unbending stance during his studies, and women found him a rather zany and insensitive "bore" - all except Jean. Perhaps because she was the only one with whom he was real? Let that remain a mystery...