It's an enjoyable disaster.
The Wave
Grade: B
Director: Roar Uthaug
Screenplay: John Kare Raake, Harald Rosenlow-Eeg
Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Thomas Bo Larsen
Rating: NR
Runtime: 1 hr. 44 min.
by John DeSando
“Being here, it is just impossible to imagine what that was like, when the tsunami hit.” Connie Selleca
Director Roar Uthang (that name is worth the price of admission itself) expertly imitates the great American disaster films with his Norwegian entry for the Oscars, The Wave. Not only does he include every trope imaginable (e.g., it’s the central nuclear family’s “last day” in the little Norwegian fjord), but he also makes it feel realistic and humanistic, not always virtues of American blockbusters.
Geologist Kristian (Christoffer Joner) suspects the Akneset mountain pass above Geiranger Falls fjord is going to avalanche and cause a tsunami to obliterate the town nestled in the narrow waterway. The anticipation is as good as you will ever get because we know the tsunami is what this film’s about, but we still fear nobody but him is paying attention to the signs.
When the wave is about to arrive after the avalanche, the town has 10 minutes to get to higher ground. Those are 10 well-crafted minutes during which the ascent is a severe challenge given the cars trying to get there at the same time. Slipping into the cliché, the focus is on the family trying to save each other because father Kristian and daughter ( Edith Haagenrud) are separated from mother Idun ( Ane Dahl Torp) and son Sondre (Jonas Hoff Oftebro) . Although the rescues are exciting, especially the under-water struggles, nothing new is in the script and the outcome to be expected.
The cinematography will seduce you into a trip to Norway with the majestic mountains and picturesque town, but the CGI for the wave is not comparable to what US artists can create. Yet, the family is cool enough to make you care, and the idea of an aging mountain exacting toll for years of tourism is, well, just my feeling about the metaphysics.
The Wave is a pleasant disaster diversion and a fine film for a dead movie time of the year.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
