A young Soviet physicist is dangerously exposed to radiation during an experiment. Despite warnings from his medical advisers and the pleas of his wife, he decides to continue his research into thermonuclear fission-until the new reactor breeds discontent. Beautifully photographed in chilling black and white, Nine Days of One Year offers a provocative glimpse of the conflicts between men and science. The philosophical weight of this unusual Cold War film is seen in the nondescript corridors, endless control panels, impregnable steel doors, and bulky machinery that dwarf the physicists. However, director Romm humanizes his themes by constructing complex and enigmatic characters who are vulnerably moral. Lively and often humorously staged scenes of the scientists talking shop air the necessity for human need over historical imperative. Anything but didactic, Nine Days of One Year is a surprising artifact from the glory days of the arms race. -Steve Seid