The review of The North Sea, a Norwegian film that looks at Hollywood disaster movies, telling of a catastrophe in the making on an oil platform. Available on Sky and NOW.
Who is passionate about disaster movie For some time now, he has been paying close attention to the proposals coming from Norway, given that in recent years the Scandinavian country has seen local blockbusters concentrate precisely on the aforementioned trend. Just think of two of the most famous titles, namely the diptych formed by The Wave (2015) e The Quake – The earthquake of the century (2018), both also distributed on our shores.
As often happens, the killer returns to the scene of the crime and behind the camera The North Sea we find just that John Andreas Andersen who had already signed the spectacular cinematographic earthquake: on this occasion it is not a telluric event, but the vastness of the ocean which becomes an ever more imminent danger for the destinies of the protagonists, once again ordinary people grappling with a bigger situation of them.
The origins of the disaster
On Christmas Eve 1969, the Norwegian authorities announced the imminent construction of one of the largest oil platforms in the world, capable of guaranteeing energy development on a fundamental basis for the development of the nation. Ecofish, this is the name of the project, thus assumes capital importance and allows the government to flex its muscles. But behind such an impressive undertaking, equally prominent risks are hidden, which promptly occur precisely in favor of the script. In fact, when an unforeseen event threatens the stability of the structure, a mass evacuation is ordered in all the plants, but in one of these one of the containment wells has remained open, with potentially even more serious consequences if something goes wrong. To try to avoid the worst Stian, one of the technicians, decides to deal with the closure alone, only to find himself imprisoned following the collapse of the platform. All hope seems lost but his partner and colleague Sofia is ready to do anything to bring him home safe and sound…
The rules of the game
The topoi of the related kind are once again consolidated to the nth degree, but above all in the first part of the vision one breathes a greater sobriety in the management of that sense of waiting which acts as an appetizer to the daring final half hour, apotheosis in the name of pure visual spectacle. The sea invaded by gigantic flames that spread at a frightening speed offers aesthetically captivating moments and shows the quality of the special effects, which have nothing to envy of the homologous Hollywood productions. Precisely in his clinging to a story that is more restrained and less enslaved by emotion, The North Sea partially pays for a veiled didacticism, with what happens in the halls of power – where politicians and businessmen manage the fate of ordinary people – which in some situations risks taking the upper hand excessively, penalizing the narrative rhythm a little. It is no coincidence that we mention the famous and true case of the Deepwater Horizonalready adapted to the big screen in Deepwater – Deep ocean inferno (2016) with Mark Wahlberg, to explain the severity of environmental damage that could result from the accident.
Until the last second
Despite some inaccuracies in the writing phase, the film still knows how to keep the audience glued until the end credits, also because of the good empathic bond it manages to create towards the main characters, with a couple – and a ” third wheel” – to fight for salvation in what becomes an increasingly desperate fight against time and with claustrophobic overtones, with the waters of the seabed that risk turning into a hypothetical grave if fate does not turn to their support. In short, The North Sea offers pleasantly old school entertainment, which seems to emerge directly from the 90s in an indigenous perspective, with references to the relative culture that appear several times: at the beginning of the film, at a party, one does not dine with sausage and coca cola, but beer must be a must.
Conclusions
A disaster announced aboard an oil rig threatens to cause serious damage to the environment but this is not the narrative heart behind The North Sea, which instead focuses on the desperate rescue mission undertaken by a young woman in an attempt to save the man she loves, trapped in that sunken structure in the middle of the sea. A full-blown disaster movie that confirms the state of grace of Norwegian cinema in the related vein, which in recent years has given us worthy titles that look at the themed Hollywood classics, with a large dose of healthy rhetoric, (pre) powerful emotions and remarkable special effects that have nothing to envy to more famous productions.
Because we like it
- Excellent quality special effects that guarantee a healthy themed show.
- All the classic disaster movie archetypes are guaranteed, for tense and thrilling entertainment.
What’s wrong
- The script pays some obviousness in the management of characters and events.
