The Wave is a typical disaster epic with a very unusual sort of disaster at its core. It's obvious that the filmmakers studied the genre and came up with a rather troperiffic, albeit not quite cliched, entry into it.
Most of the action centers on Geiranger, a tourist village located near Geirangerfjord. Near the village is the mountain Åkerneset, with a large crevasse that indicates the mountainside is unstable. Because of this, an observation and warning station was set up nearby to keep a close eye on any shifts within the mountain.
The protagonist is Kristian, a geologist that long was the lead manager at the station, but is moving up to bigger and better things (taking a job in the oil business, common in Norway). His house in Geiranger is sold and he's in the midst of moving his family. His wife works at the nearby tourist hotel. His daughter chooses to stay with him in the empty house, while his teenaged son Sondre chooses to stay with his mother in the hotel.
It's no spoiler to say that things go pear-shaped on the mountain in short order. In the manner of all disaster movies, it first starts giving off subtle warning signs. Kristian argues for sounding the alarm immediately, but is argued down by the new head manager of the facility. He leaves to spend the night with his daughter in the house, while Arvid, the new site manager, bunks up with his crew to keep an eye on the mountain round the clock. Shortly thereafter, everything goes to hell on the mountain, the feared landslide occurs, and a monstrous, nearly 300 foot high displacement tsunami begins its inexorable march down the fjord.
Geiranger hears the sirens, and everyone has 10 minutes to get 300 feet above sea level - and yet, Kristian and his daughter are separated from his wife and son at the hotel. What do they do?
The first 2/3rds of the movie, leading up to the disaster, is gripping. Even with the disaster predictable, the tension ratchets ever upward, particularly when the mountain's subtle warning signs turn flagrant - and deadly. By the time the tsunami sirens sound, the dramatic tension is thick enough to cut with a knife.
The titular wave itself is as beautiful and horrifying as you'd expect a 300 foot high engine of destruction to be. Despite the small budget, they do a fantastic job showing the wave and its effects once it reaches Geiranger.
The last 1/3rd, unfortunately, relies on every tired disaster-movie trope and cliche in the book, as Kristian and his family find themselves in imminent peril with the tsunami racing toward them. The action and its outcome is as predictable as snow in winter. While all this probably seemed fresh to the Norwegian audience, it will be an all-too-familiar ride to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the genre.
Overall worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of Norway or disaster films, but expect the ride and resolution to be clunky once The Wave passes through. 3.5/5 stars.
Bølgen (2015) review.
The Wave is a typical disaster epic with a very unusual sort of disaster at its core. It's obvious that the filmmakers studied the genre and came up with a rather troperiffic, albeit not quite cliched, entry into it.
Most of the action centers on Geiranger, a tourist village located near Geirangerfjord. Near the village is the mountain Åkerneset, with a large crevasse that indicates the mountainside is unstable. Because of this, an observation and warning station was set up nearby to keep a close eye on any shifts within the mountain.
The protagonist is Kristian, a geologist that long was the lead manager at the station, but is moving up to bigger and better things (taking a job in the oil business, common in Norway). His house in Geiranger is sold and he's in the midst of moving his family. His wife works at the nearby tourist hotel. His daughter chooses to stay with him in the empty house, while his teenaged son Sondre chooses to stay with his mother in the hotel.
It's no spoiler to say that things go pear-shaped on the mountain in short order. In the manner of all disaster movies, it first starts giving off subtle warning signs. Kristian argues for sounding the alarm immediately, but is argued down by the new head manager of the facility. He leaves to spend the night with his daughter in the house, while Arvid, the new site manager, bunks up with his crew to keep an eye on the mountain round the clock. Shortly thereafter, everything goes to hell on the mountain, the feared landslide occurs, and a monstrous, nearly 300 foot high displacement tsunami begins its inexorable march down the fjord.
Geiranger hears the sirens, and everyone has 10 minutes to get 300 feet above sea level - and yet, Kristian and his daughter are separated from his wife and son at the hotel. What do they do?
The first 2/3rds of the movie, leading up to the disaster, is gripping. Even with the disaster predictable, the tension ratchets ever upward, particularly when the mountain's subtle warning signs turn flagrant - and deadly. By the time the tsunami sirens sound, the dramatic tension is thick enough to cut with a knife.
The titular wave itself is as beautiful and horrifying as you'd expect a 300 foot high engine of destruction to be. Despite the small budget, they do a fantastic job showing the wave and its effects once it reaches Geiranger.
The last 1/3rd, unfortunately, relies on every tired disaster-movie trope and cliche in the book, as Kristian and his family find themselves in imminent peril with the tsunami racing toward them. The action and its outcome is as predictable as snow in winter. While all this probably seemed fresh to the Norwegian audience, it will be an all-too-familiar ride to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the genre.
Overall worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of Norway or disaster films, but expect the ride and resolution to be clunky once The Wave passes through. 3.5/5 stars.