Guardians of the Formula – Review

Inspired by true events comes an untold story that history has forgotten, Guardians of the Formula is a very well-constructed film.  It is 1958 and the peak of the Cold War. Professor Georges Maté (Manenti) works with lab rats until he is interrupted by a trenchcoated man. He is driven to Orly Airport in Paris, where a plane lands. Government officials meet, while Maté watches people exit the plane and get into cars. These “patients” are from Yugoslavia.

The convoy of vehicles is escorted to a hospital in Paris, the Curie Clinic. Here, Maté is informed that the patients were irradiated 48 hours ago in an accident, all from a Yugoslavian reactor which they made themselves. This was the Vinča Nuclear Institute, led in secret by professor Dragoslav Popović. After an accident at the plant, he called his friend Henri Jammet (Abelanski) in France at the clinic.

As Maté has been studying the effects of radiation, he was brought in for this. He will work together with Henri Jame to manage their treatment. Humanity is waiting for a cure to this devastating effect. It is a historic moment, like it or not.

Popović remembers the event, and his excited yet nervous team almost ready to run their reactor experiment. How quickly things have turned, as he now sits in a hospital, with a ticking time bomb of radiation inside of him. Maté brings in his assistant Léon Schwartzenberg (Laheurte), a transfusion specialist. The group of experimenters must do all they can to save any of the patients. Nothing is off the table, other than waiting, as time is short.

A seemingly hopeless situation is met by intelligent experts in their fields, as a puzzle to crack before all patients are lost. Will these people rise to the challenge? How is it possible to slow down a devastating radiation amount inside an organic body with a weakened immune system? Is there ANY hope? Strangely… YES!

Guardians of the Formula is a very interesting film, with exceptional acting and a strong script tackling a lesser-known historical event of triumph. While it is a solemn plot at times, there are a plethora of interesting scientific and life observations, and the topics at hand are gripping. It runs a tad long but overall remains high quality.