The Wave (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – Even though awaited, no-one is really ready when the mountain pass of Åkneset above the scenic narrow Norwegian fjord Geiranger falls out and creates a 85-meter-high violent tsunami. A geologist is one of those caught in the middle of it.

My Take – Every now and then a foreign film comes along and makes a huge splash (no pun intended) mostly critically and some times financial wise. Norwegian movies occasionally bring sleeper hit like the Troll Hunter, and a result the success of this film did not come as a surprise to me. Apparently when it was first released it was praised by most of the Norwegian film critics as a very good film, some even went as far as calling it a masterpiece. Well I wouldn’t go that far, but sure it lies somewhere above recent disaster flicks such as San Andreas, but falls a little short on an emotional level in comparison to the other tsunami based English-language Spanish disaster film aptly titled The Impossible (2012). I know its not right to compare a film made on a budget of just US$6–6.5 million to other Hollywood disasters (The Impossible cost $45 million and San Andreas cost $110 million), hence keeping that in mind, this disaster flick works beautifully in corners at aims at. The film uses its setting very nicely, it capitalizes on the actual hotel and mountain, partially and understandably for promotional purpose. It’s visually pleasing and involving scenery, better than most Hollywood attempts on the genre. For example, San Andreas doesn’t keep the viewer engaged aside from excessive CG. This movie cleverly captures the essence of the place well.

It doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of special effect here, it’s just used more appropriately. For those wanting a cool spectacle of force of nature, you won’t be disappointed. Better yet, there are few scenes which really push the theatrical effect of human drama and graphical thriller so precisely, it’s impressively daunting. Furthermore, audience would mostly likely relate to the family’s ordeal more than investing on random calamity displays like Roland Emmerich films such 2012 or to some extend The Day After Tomorrow. The story follows Kristian (Kristoffer Joner) is a geologist who has just completed his last day of work in Geiranger, a small, almost painfully gorgeous tourist locale in western Norway. The family is moving, and has already packed; Kristian’s wife, Idun (Ane Dahl Torp), who works the graveyard shift as a hotel manager, has booked a room for the night, though only skateboarding teenager Sondre (Jonas Hoff Oftebro) winds up using it. Kristian and his other child, Julia (Edith Haagenrud-Sande), camp out in the empty house, so Julia can say goodbye. But Kristian is nervous, because his former job involved monitoring the area for potential rock slides that could cause a tsunami, and there were some troubling signs on his final run in the field. Sure enough, the mountain overlooking Geiranger, called Akerneset, suddenly crumbles, and a warning siren informs Mom and Dad—separated, each with one kid—that they have about 10 minutes to get to high ground before a gigantic wall of water obliterates the entire village. All of this is based on a very real threat: Geiranger exists, and a rock slide that will cause a tsunami is considered to be inevitable. (There have been several such incidents in Norway over the past century, killing hundreds.) While the first act might feel a tad slow but the entirety is finely tuned compartmentalized sequences that fit together as good disaster movie. Director Roar Uthaug, expertly orchestrates the panic that ensues when the alarm goes off, as the entire village wakes up in the middle of the night and scrambles to reach a particular elevation. And the heart of the movie, as in The Impossible, lies in the aftermath, as Kristian desperately searches for Idun and Sondre, who are both trapped in the hotel’s bomb shelter with a dangerously crazed guest (Thomas Bo Larsen) as flood waters slowly rise. The the climax itself is done very well. Actually i was very impressed indeed when the mountain burst and went into the water. Up till this point i almost could not believe what i saw, i was actually looking at something extraordinary.

And that, felt really good. But, then comes the aftermath. The aftermath of the calamity where the people go look for their beloved ones. Director Uthaug, who won accolades from horror fans with his tremendous 2006 slasher, “Cold Prey,” isn’t all that keen to give us unique or particularly deep individuals. It remains focused only the one family, and their involvement, which is more or less similar to ‘The Impossible’. The supporting characters are the weak point in the entire narrative. But they’re immensely likable, and unlike the stars of American disaster pics, they’re not closet superheroes or The Rock. One of the few things I like about this film was this one looks more natural and realistic. Admittedly, there’s some dumb stuff here—the whole “on their very last day in town” element is cheesy as hell (though it provides a convenient means of separating the family), and the dramatic climax employs an especially shameless trope that has arguably only ever worked in The Abyss. At other times, though, the film favorably calls to mind another James Cameron movie, Titanic. Part of that has to do with the unavoidable similarity of scenes depicting people in an enclosed space as they try to avoid drowning, but there’s also a corresponding earnestness that’s very appealing, shifted from romantic love to familial love. At the same time, the movie isn’t afraid to go to some dark places. That ending does make the film feel extremely Hollywood. But, then, so does the rest of the movie, and that’s not such a bad thing. No one goes to a disaster movie expecting originality: Are there any apocalyptic calamities left that haven’t received the big-screen treatment at least twice? There is pleasure to be had in watching a well-made film go through the motions of a familiar genre, and the film has its share of hair-raising moments. The lead actors, mostly unknown to us (the international audience) do a fine job, plus its hard to judge them based on their dubbed English voices (which is at times funny). On the whole, ‘The Wave’ doesn’t bring anything unique to the genre, but the familiarity is part of the fun and it delivers on being a disaster movie done right, nearly every aspect of it comes crashing down just at the right spot and time.