The Wave (2015 film)
| The Wave | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roar Uthaug |
| Produced by | Are Heidenstorm |
| Written by |
John Kåre Raake Harald Rosenløw-Eeg |
| Starring | Kristoffer Joner |
| Music by | Magnus Beite |
| Cinematography | John Christian Rosenlund |
| Edited by | Christian Siebenherz |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | Norway |
| Language | Norwegian |
| Budget | US$6–6.5 million[1][2] |
| Box office | US$11.1 million[3] |
The Wave (Norwegian: Bølgen) is a 2015 Norwegian catastrophe drama film[4] directed by Roar Uthaug. It was Norway's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.[5][6][7]
Synopsis
A small Norwegian village, called Geiranger, is threatened when a huge mass of rock tumbles into a fjord, setting off a huge 250 foot tsunami. With only 10 minutes to escape the approaching catastrophe, the villagers must rush to the mountains before the wave engulfs them all.[1][8]
Cast
- Kristoffer Joner as Kristian, a geologist[1]
- Thomas Bo Larsen as Phillip
- Fridtjov Såheim as Arvid Øvrebø
- Ane Dahl Torp as Idun
- Jonas Hoff Oftebro as Sondre
- Edith Haagenrud-Sande as Julia
Production
Norway is a rockslide prone area and The Wave is based on a rock-slide tsunami incident which destroyed a Norwegian town on April 7, 1934, killing 40 people.[1] Prior to that in 1905, a similar incident triggered a tsunami killing 60 people, and 31 years later, another 74 lost their lives.[10] Uthaug has always been a fan of Hollywood disaster movies such as Twister and Armageddon and had long wanted to make a disaster film in Norway.[1] According to him the challenge was to combine the elements of the American genre movie with the reality of the situation in Norway.[1]
All the actors in the film performed their own stunts, something the director said was "utterly nerve-racking." And for a climatic scene, in which Joner tries to rescue his family from a flooded hotel, he trained with free-diving instructors to be able to hold his breath for 3 minutes underwater.[1]
Release and reception
The had its international premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on 16 September 2015.[11]
It film sold around 800,000 tickets in Norway,[1] and grossed a total of US$8.2 million at the Norwegian box office becoming the highest grossing film of 2015 in Norway.[12]
The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise aimed at the performances of the cast (mostly the two protagonists), cinematography, score and visual effects.[8][9] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "an exotic edge-of-seater [that] plays on the beauty and terror of nature" and "a thrilling ride",[2] while chief international film critic Peter Debruge of Variety described it as "an equally impressive tsunami-peril thriller."[8]
The special effects were lauded by critics, receiving favorable comparison with those of Hollywood.[8] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called them "convincingly terrifying and involving."[2] Collider.com reviewed, "...a major technical achievement that will hopefully make Hollywood reconsider the tendency to go bigger and bigger to the point of excess."[9]
See also
- List of submissions to the 88th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Norwegian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Scott Roxborough (December 3, 2015). "Foreign-Language Oscar Spotlight: Norway's Disaster Epic 'The Wave'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 Deborah Young (12 September 2015). "'The Wave': TIFF Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ↑ "The Wave (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ "Her kommer monsterbølgen inn mot Geiranger". Dagbladet. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ ""Bølgen" er Norges Oscar-kandidat". NRK. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ "Norway pins Oscar hopes on ‘The Wave’". News in English. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ↑ Roxborough, Scott (3 September 2015). "Oscars: Norway Picks 'The Wave' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Peter Debruge (25 September 2015). "Film Review: ‘The Wave’". Variety. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 Perri Nemiroff (17 September 2015). "‘The Wave’ Review: Puts Hollywood Disaster Movies to Shame". Collider.com. (Complex). Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ↑ David Nikel. "The Wave: Norway's First Disaster Movie". Lifeinnorway. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ↑ Nancy Tartaglione (16 September 2015). "Magnolia Rides ‘The Wave’; Acquires U.S. On Norway’s Smash Disaster Pic – Toronto". Deadline.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ↑ Scott Roxborough (22 December 2015). "International Box Office: The Big Local-Language Hits of 2015". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
External links
- The Wave at the Internet Movie Database