Educational Media Reviews Online

This feature-length documentary about one nuclear-disarmament activist is uniquely moving, in part because its central subject, Setsuko Thurlow, survived the bombing of Hiroshima. Thurlow connects with Mitchie Takeuchi, a filmmaker and second-generation survivor, through absolute chance. Takeuchi is the daughter of a Hiroshima survivor who never spoke of her experiences; Thurlow is an engaged activist who speaks and writes of her experience tirelessly, it would seem. It was common for many survivors to avoid speaking about the traumas they endured. Hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors, experienced discrimination throughout their lives; this treatment also affected the children of survivors, which created a culture of silence surrounding the experiences during the bombing and its aftermath.

Though a generation apart, the two women bond over their shared history; in part, this friendship is a way for the younger Takeuchi to learn about what her mother’s youth would have been like as a survivor. Thurlow is a compelling storyteller and director Susan Strickler is skilled at eliciting personal details. As the friendship grows, the film documents Thurlow’s involvement in the anti-nuclear movement, both as an individual and with international advocacy groups such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). When ICAN receives a Nobel Peace Prize, it is Thurlow who accepts on behalf of the organization. The film powerfully depicts one person’s tireless fight for a cause that contributes to the health and safety of the entire planet. It can be watched as a biopic, and it is also a multifaceted exploration of friendship, love, shared vision, as well as deeply moving history lesson. The Vow from Hiroshima takes four distinct threads (the change that one motivated person can affect through peaceful action, the nuclear disarmament movement, the biographical details of both Thurlow’s and Takeuchi’s lives, and the incomprehensible loss and devastation in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945) and blends them into a cohesive, masterful narrative.

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