– By Cate Marquis –
‘The Wave’ shows Hollywood has no monopoly on big effects disaster films
“The Wave” is an eye-popping, nail-biting thriller about an avalanche that triggers a tsunami-like flood at threatens to wipe out a tourist filled town in the blink of an eye. The most surprising thing about this top-notch special effects disaster thriller is that it is not a Hollywood film -it is from Norway.
The film is set in a scenic part of Norway, along a beautiful fjord which is a favorite destination for tourists. In Norway’s Sunnmore region, the shoreline village of Geiranger is one of the most spectacular, with the mountain Akerneset overlooking it. But the natural beauty hides a threat: the steep rock walls are prone to rock avalanches. A big one can trigger a huge wave in the narrow waterway, which can wipe out entire villages on the shore in minutes. It has happened before, so the cautious Norwegians have set up a system of monitors along the rock face to warn of shifts, and an emergency alert system to evacuate the threatened towns. Still the warnings do not give much time – ten minutes – to move to higher ground.
Kristian (Kristoffer Joner) has been a geologist with the team that monitors the mountain but has just taken a much better paying job with an oil company. As he prepares to move to a big city with his wife Idun (Ane Dahl Torp), teenaged son Sondre (Jonas Hoff Oftebro) and young daughter Julia (Edith Haagenrud-Sande), they all have some reservations about leaving their idyllic home – particularly the teen-aged boy. Still the money is so much better that Kristian cannot turn it down.
On his last day, and after a little farewell party thrown by his co-workers, Kristian is still checking the data. Something is not quite right, although it does not fit the models of a precursor for an avalanche. Still it nags at him, and he even returns the next day trying to figure out if it is an equipment malfunction. His co-workers think he is just reluctant to leave but Kristian is sure something is wrong.
Of course, something is wrong, or there would be no movie. Director Roar Uthaug (is that a great first name or what?) is a master at keeping the action moving and anxiety high every moment.“The Wave” follows the pattern of other disaster thrillers, with the emphasis on action and effects rather than character development. Yes, there are subtitles (the film is in Norwegian, with a little English) but dialog is not a big part of this action story. Still, the acting is good and the characters are more fully-drawn than usually is the case, which actually adds to the nail-biting tension.
And tension it does have, along with amazing special effects, as good as any seen. Like “The Impossible,” another tsunami-themed thriller, it is all about the race for survival, the snap life-and-death decisions and enormous feats of strength or daring. The tension never stops and the action will rivet viewers to the edge of their seats.
“The Wave” demonstrates that when it comes to gripping action, suspenseful thrills and jaw-dropping visual effects, Hollywood has no monopoly. “The Wave” is now playing at the Tivoli Theater.
© Cate Marquis / The Current
