The essential theme of the 1993 film Gray is the borderline situation. A group of female scientists attempt to grasp the scale of a nuclear catastrophe; their conversation includes allusions and references both to significant facts about nuclear accidents and to the personal thoughts of the women. With the help of a lift Ahtila allows the protagonists to travel into a dark space under water. Such change, whether resulting from a nuclear accident or from the invasion of foreign languages and customs, here becomes final: it is impossible to return back to the old homeland.