Special Operation Review: The Invasion of Chornobyl

Oleksiy Radynski’s Special Operation (Spetsialna Operatsiia) is a chilling experiment in documentary narrative that tries to speak for itself.

Just like most documentaries,  Special Operation includes a narrative and a point of view, but Radynski’s movie also does make a point of trying to remain as neutral as possible, allowing the viewer to be a spectator of all the things these soldiers and their superiors did during their five weeks stuck at the plant. The result is a fascinating experiment in documentary narrative that’s hard to watch at moments.

Now, the movie tries to be a sort of summary of all that happened when the Russian troops occupied the place, showing the viewer pretty much everything they did. We see as they arrive with tanks and weapons, trying to look as intimidating as possible. But most fascinatingly, we see them as people, not as particularly tough-looking goons. One of the aims of Special Operation is to show the viewer that these Russian invaders weren’t as efficient or intelligent as they were supposed to be, and looked rather lost most of the time.

It’s an interesting prospect, then, having the opportunity to watch the humanisation of an invading force. It’s not the sort of humanisation that turns these soldiers into three-dimensional figures with which one can empathise, but rather the kind that turns them into bumbling, clueless criminals. Special Operation shows the people who were supposed to be smart and powerful as vulnerable; as a force that arrived in a place without knowing what to do or how to do it. The fact that Radynski managed to get 1000 hours of footage of everything they did should tell us all about their efficiency; apparently, they weren’t even able to turn off or destroy most of the CCTV cameras at the plant.

Now, the fact that Special Operation is told exclusively through CCTV footage is quite fascinating. The viewer gets a birds-eye view of everything: the entrance to the plant, the exteriors, even the hallways and rooms. We see the Russian soldiers from afar, but at times, also closely, which means we see their faces and for a bit, even their bodies. Watching Special Operation almost feels like an out-of-body experience, as if we were passively watching something prohibited and dark, without being able to do anything about it.

Additionally, since CCTV cameras usually don’t record sound, Radynski collaborated with top Lithuanian-based sound artist Vladimir Golovnitski, who designed the film’s soundscape. This results in a completely plausible experience, in which the viewer never really notices the sound design – which is, of course, the whole point of Golovnitski’s work. There are footsteps and unintelligible conversations and even explosions in the background, outside the frame. Thus, the movie manages to create quite an oppressive atmosphere without ever feeling manipulative, complementing the realistic visual style and editing with an equally realistic soundscape.

Barely an hour long, Special Operation is short enough to not  end up testing the viewer’s patience, but long enough to feel like a precise and largely neutral account of what happened in Chornobyl in 2022. It obviously has an anti-Russian invasion point of view, but it doesn’t try to convey it in an obvious or artless way, instead letting the real-life footage speak for itself as the viewer sees everything the invaders did for five weeks. Special Operation is not a movie for everyone, and it does demand quite a bit of patience and critical analysis from the viewer, but those who give it a chance will find themselves glued to the screen, considering the actions of these war criminals at the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history.

Special Operation (Spetsialna Operatsiia) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 16, 2025. Read our Berlin Film Festival reviews and our list of 20 films to watch at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival!