“Oppenheimer” making nearly $1 billion, and now winning Best Picture, doesn’t mean it’s immune to criticism, especially from the real-life people harmed by the atomic testing — but in the wake of the Oscars, some are willing to forgive … though, not forget.

Maybe the only bad thing uttered about the Christopher Nolan-directed flick has been that it glosses over the long-lasting radiation exposure and cancer cases generations of New Mexico locals have endured following the July 1945 nuclear bomb test.

Despite the omission, one of those victims, Wesley Burris, tells TMZ he doesn’t have any ill will about the film being cemented as “the best” of the year. He says it’s unlikely the cast or filmmakers were aware of the victims’ backstories … let alone that there were victims at all, starting nearly 80 years ago.

Remember, the explosive test took place amid thunderstorms over White Sands Missile Range, resulting in toxic debris falling back to Earth in the ensuing rain. It contaminated the landscape, water supplies, the food chain and exposed NM residents to harmful radiation.

Wesley reflected on the event that changed his life when he was just 5 years old. He described the detonation as being so bright, it was like looking at the sun, and the force blew him outta bed.

The medical fallout for his whole family’s been devastating — Wesley got skin cancer, his brother had radiation cancer, his sister had breast cancer and her daughter was born with leukemia. He also had friends who died from cancer they attributed to the atomic test.

Wesley acknowledges the government might not have known what the outcome would be, but failing to inform residents about it ahead of time was messed up.

In fact, he says they were all in the dark about what went down for a while, only to be told years later it was a nuclear test.

As for the movie, he says he paid money to go and watch it and thought it was good. But, he still thinks people should know what really happened in the aftermath, and realize people are still dying from it.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, joined us last week on “TMZ Live” … to share how the nuclear testing is still affecting NM families — including her own who lived 15 miles from the blast.

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3/6/24

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Tina’s less forgiving than Wesley … as she believes the literal and figurative fallout was intentionally left out of the film — just as NM residents were left out of 1990’s Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which provided compensation to residents living near nuclear testing sites. But, only those in Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

So, as “Oppenheimer” is celebrated for its acting, directing and storytelling … Wesley and Tina agree on one thing — like thousands of others in New Mexico — they’re waiting on the U.S. government to recognize their struggle.