Filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow has captured the attention of Netflix and the Pentagon this weekend with her new film A House of Dynamite, which addresses a chilling scenario: an imminent nuclear attack on the United States, particularly focused on Chicago. The film, which lasts almost two hours, offers a disturbing reflection on the reactivity of institutions in the face of an extreme crisis.
The 18 most tense minutes in the country’s history
Bigelow, known for her work in tense and action-packed films, has conducted a meticulous documentation exercise, relying on military experts and the reality of response processes to a nuclear attack. The narrative unfolds through episodic segments that showcase the different perspectives of the 18 minutes leading up to the impact, highlighting the urgency in the response from the Pentagon and the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM), which would have only 15 minutes to update the president on the situation.
In one of the key scenes, it is mentioned that the odds of successfully intercepting a missile are 60%, compared to the 55% reported in real tests. This type of detail resonates deeply, as the film seeks to portray the reality of how such a crisis would be handled in bureaucratic terms, where the decision to counterattack or surrender ultimately falls on one person: the President of the United States.
The film also addresses the normalization of alerts about nuclear threats, reminding us that during the Trump administration, there were at least 15 alert calls regarding North Korea, many of which were false alarms. In this context, A House of Dynamite is not only a fierce work of fiction but also a commentary on the functioning of the system surrounding the nuclear threat, emphasizing that the true antagonist may be “the system we have built.”
