"Oppenheimer," a biopic based on the life of the "father of the atomic bomb," the man who helped develop the nuclear weapons used by the United States against Japan at the end of World War II, won the Oscar for best picture and other U.S. Academy awards Sunday.
The Christopher Nolan-directed film, which achieved blockbuster status in the United States, depicts the physicist Robert Oppenheimer as he rises from student to key figure in the top-secret Manhattan Project amid the war and eventually opposes the development of nuclear weapons.
Survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki expressed their appreciation for the Oscar wins, hoping that the movie will generate momentum toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. They also hope the film will draw attention to nuclear issues, especially among younger generations.
Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer, who helps develop the atomic bomb and, in the process, comes into contact with some of the most prominent theoretical physicists of the era, including Albert Einstein.
After Oppenheimer leads the first test of an atomic bomb at a site called Trinity in New Mexico in July 1945, the new technology is put to use the following month against Japan.
While the film presents no imagery of the devastation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the protagonist is seen to be haunted by his country's use of nuclear weapons, even as the U.S. public celebrates him.
Nolan also portrays Oppenheimer's frustration and agony as he opposes the postwar development of the hydrogen bomb in the Cold War against the Soviet Union.
"I hope the movie will be a major force in urging the world to abolish nuclear weapons," said Toshiyuki Mimaki, the 81-year-old head of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations.
Although he said it was disappointing that the movie did not show images of the devastation caused by the bombings, "It is significant that a movie on atomic bombings has won" the awards.
Masao Tomonaga, the 80-year-old honorary director of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital, commented that the movie portrays the proliferation of nuclear arms and the inhumanity of atomic weapons. He sees the film as a "warning" regarding the stagnant efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
The film took Oscars in seven categories including best director and best leading actor.
The three-hour film, described in the U.S. media as one of the highest-grossing World War II-related movies following its release in July, had already swept major awards at the U.S. Golden Globes in January and the British Academy competition last month.
"Oppenheimer" will hit theaters in Japan on March 29.
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