The Wave ★★★½
NORWAY’S first disaster movie The Wave barely caused a ripple at Perth cinemas.
It screened a couple of times at a Scandinavian Film Festival and then slipped away to sit unnoticed in many World Cinema internet film library queues.
Which is a shame because it’s very entertaining with some exceptional special effects set in a beautiful location. If it was an English language film with a mega-star lead, it would have re-created the box office success achieved in its homeland.
The film starts with actual newsreel footage of mountain landslides that caused tsunamis and resulting death and destruction. We are told that Norway has over 300 unstable mountainsides and it’s only a matter of time before history is repeated.
Cut to a small town based around a stunning fjord where geologist Kristian (played by Kristoffer Joner) lives with his wife and two children. Kristian has just accepted a new job that will mean leaving the town and his current position with the team that constantly monitors the shifting geology of the surrounding mountains.
In true Hollywood style, the team has recently noticed some unusual readings, during their monitoring, but the new leader is reluctant to raise concerns and unnecessarily cause panic during the height of the tourist season.
On his last day, Kristian realises too late that disaster is imminent. He and his young daughter must survive the deadly tsunami and then rush back into danger to help rescue his wife and son trapped in a flooding hotel basement.
The first half-hour of The Wave is split between Kristian and his family and the mountain monitoring team, slowly building tension until the moment the siren sounds and the townspeople have only minutes to evacuate or face the tsunami’s wrath.
There are some fantastic scenes when the the wave hits, not the least being Kristian and a woman frantically getting into a car and strapping themselves in before the water smashes down on them sending the car tumbling.
The film is directed with surety by Roar Uthaug and has brought him to the attention of Hollywood to helm the new version of Tomb Raider. The Wave is a great calling card and he deserves this chance.