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The Wave (Bolgen)

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    Mark Tolch
    Senior Member

  • Wave, The (Bolgen)



    Released By: Magnolia Home Entertainment
    Released On: June 21, 2016.
    Director: Roar Uthaug
    Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp
    Year: 2015
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Movie:

    Thanks to mainstream Hollywood's love of CGI and simplistic movie plots, the "Disaster Film" is a common genre that is guaranteed to hold virtually nothing outside of cookie-cutter routine and standardized acting and effects. However, a box office success coming out of Norway, helmed by a relatively unknown (outside of his own country) Director named ROAR Uthaug, about a tidal wave in the fjords? Colour me interested!

    It's been 50 years since the village of Geiranger was threatened by a tsunami caused by a section of the Akerneset mountain sliding into the fjord, and precautions have been taken in the form of an emergency response team of scientists who monitor the shifting of the mountain range. After years of dedicating his life to the cause, Kristian (Kristoffer Joner) is leaving his post in Geiranger to take on a corporate role in Stavanger for a big oil company. His wife and two children couldn't be happier about the move, given that Kristian's attention in recent times has been all but consumed by the shifting of the earth's plates below the mountain and his obsession with developing a more effective early warning system in the event of a rock slide. With Idun staying behind to finish up her shift at a local hotel, Kristian loads the kids in the car and heads for the ferry to Stavanger, but decides at the last minute to swing by his old workplace. His old co-workers are not exactly pleased to see him there, especially when he gets wildly paranoid about some recent changes in the mountain crevasse, convinced that they should be putting the village on alert. In a situation reminiscent of JAWS, Kristian's colleagues are adamant that Geiranger's peak tourist season must not be threatened, potential disaster or not.

    Doubly pissed is Idun, who receives the call from her children that they've been sitting in the car waiting for dad for hours while he helicopters out to the mountain range to see what's what. With the ferry to Stavanger long gone, Kristian apologizes to his wife for his madness and decides that their son Sondre will stay in the hotel that night with his working mother, while Kristian and his daughter go back to visit their old house. With the family completely separated, it's inevitable what will happen next, and after putting his daughter to bed and helping himself to a glass of scotch from a forgotten bottle found in the cupboard, Kristian's fears are confirmed by the sounds of an emergency warning siren. Indeed, a large section of the Akerneset has slid into the waters of the Geirangerfjord at a rapid rate, with the mountain walls on either side of the fjord causing the resulting wave to jack up to monstrous proportions, heading straight for the village. With only 10 minutes to get to safety, Kristian needs to make some quick decisions. Get he and his daughter to safety? Or go back to the hotel to be with Idun and Sondre? With an 80 meter wall of whitewater and mountain debris crashing towards them, neither outcome looks promising.

    Despite appearing on the surface very much like its Hollywood friends, The Wave manages to exceed most of the mainstream disaster flicks in a number of ways. First off, the threat is very real. This isn't a sudden ice age coming out of nowhere, or the sun suddenly moving closer to the earth and incinerating buildings to the soundtrack of "Heatwave", although, yes, it could be argued that these events COULD occur, or will in 500 years or whatever. Regardless, the village of Geiranger and other nearby towns do live in constant threat of a rockslide and potential tsunami, a truly terrifying concept. Secondly, the cast, largely unknown to most of us up here in North America, are fantastic, delivering realistic performances and jerking a few tears here and there once everything starts going down. Kristoffer Joner and Ane Dahl Torp are particularly excellent, keeping up the appearance of being convincing, concerned and loving parents throughout. And although The Wave is a little draggy in the beginning, failing to build tension and an unsure atmosphere with the inevitable on the horizon, it fully delivers with the onset of chaos with stellar action and some neat twists and turns. Another flaw of mainstream flicks, even with massive budgets, is the unconvincing nature of the visual effects, which The Wave easily bests, mixing lower-budget CGI and practical effects with well-done sets to create a very realistic portrait of catastrophe.

    Sure, there are some questionable moments, as this genre tends to dwell in the realm of the improbable at times, and it does seem a little unlikely that Kristian would have to explain the basic premise of a rock slide to his presumably competent colleagues, but sometimes you have to spell it out for the audience. Regardless, ROAR! Uthaug and co. have done a great job of taking a simple premise, some solid actors, and a stellar visual effects team, outdoing the Michael Bays and Roland Emmerichs of the world.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    The Wave (Bolgen) comes to Blu-ray from Magnolia Home Entertainment, and it looks and sounds fantastic. An AVC-encoded 2.39:1 video transfer that pops off of the screen with sharpness, detail, and deep, deep blacks is the perfect vehicle for this film, dropping the disaster right into your living room. Likewise, the audio transfer, courtesy of a Dolby Atmos soundtrack if you choose the native Norwegian option, is heavy, HEAVY on the use of discrete surround channels and LFE without being annoying, a fully immersive experience with impressive dynamic range that never buries the dialogue and brings Magnus Beite's well-suited score to life. An English option (in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1) is also available, but the dubbing is less than impressive, robbing the actors of the necessary inflection.

    English, English Narrative, English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided for the film.

    First up in the supplements on the disc is Behind The Scenes of the Wave (5:29) a short look at the making of the film, with the key players involved. Subtitles are supplied in English for most of this featurette, which discussion pertaining to shooting the film on location and in the studio. Ever seen a tracking shot done from a seque? You will here!

    Next up is The Wave: The Visual Effects Breakdown (9:29) a look at the visual effects split up into three parts, for some reason. Lars Erik Hansen talks about how the VFX for the film were done, creating computer models of the mountains and water, and mixing the CGI with practical effects for a more realistic outcome.

    Interview with Director Roar Uthaug (4:29) has the Director speaking in English, discussing the origins of the film in the past rock slides of the 30's, and the inevitability of another one. He also talks about the need for solid characters and actors to compliment the visual effects in these films, and how the actors were chosen for The Wave.

    A Trailer for the film and a Magnolia Promo Reel are also included.

    The Final Word:

    How can you not trust a movie made by Norwegians with a guy named ROAR! at the helm? The Wave was a box office smash overseas, and it's easy to see why. Check out the Magnolia Blu-ray, highly recommended.


    Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!





















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