I love disaster films. The Wave movie is a Norwegian disaster story about a picturesque tourist destination called Geiranger. I think it’s one of the best low-budget great action-thrillers in world cinema. Made on a midrange of $6 million bucks, it’s a very modest budget for something that features a giant wave demolishing a riverside town.
To gain some perspective, Geostorm (2017) was made for $120 million. Furthermore, the Tidal Wave movie (2009) was $16 million, and Flood (2007) for $24 million. Yet, The Wave stands up to these films by carefully filming pivotal scenes that pack all the punch you need to make you feel as though you’ve had a big-budget experience. Movie waves, especially in giant form, are extremely popular. Everyone loves a disaster.
Is The Wave Movie Based on Real Events?
The story for The Wave movie starts with Kristian, a geologist who’s about to move his family away from his idyllic home. He works alongside a small team in the Åkerneset monitoring station. His wife Idun holds a job at the local hotel and the setup is one many will be familiar with. It’s tourist season and the place is packed with people ready to enjoy a well-earned break.
As the family prepares for their departure, his wife will work a few more days while his son stays in the hotel with her. Of course, the youngest of the children want nothing more than to spend one last night in their house, quasi-camping before their ferry ride to Stavanger.
Earlier in the day, Kristian attends a small farewell held by his colleagues, and while there, eating cake and wishing him well, some sensors show the groundwater under the massive mountain has disappeared. Nothing to worry about though, the team decides to check it out without Kristian. It’s obviously some sort of equipment malfunction and they bid him farewell.
It’s A Movie Tidal Wave of Tension
I am becoming quite a fan of cinema from Norway and Sweden. The Wave, I discovered is the highest-grossing film to come out of Noway. I also read that all the actors performed their own stunts. This fact rendered me astounded given there are a few different underwater scenes. One amidst the tsunami, involving a car, was simply crazy to watch. The tsunami scenes were enough to make your heart race which means they were done well.
Aside from some absurd assumptions to ignore a rather big warning signal The Wave movie is fast-paced to keep you glued to the screen. If the alerts hadn’t been seen by the very people whose sole job is to protect the safety of everyone in the village, I would have no issues with any of the narratives in this story. But like many films where scientific professionals are shown to make poor decisions for stupid reasons, it’s not enough to take away from the quality of the rest of the film.
The Wave Movie Is Based on Real Events
The writers chose to split the family up prior to the commencement of the disaster. In doing so there is an extra level of tension, despite introducing some additional faces. There is also an action-packed death scene executed with the finesse worthy of any blockbuster you could put it beside.
The crux of the story is based on a real event that happened in Tafjord in 1934, killing 40 people. According to records, Norway itself is an area prone to rockslides and plenty of other disasters have happened in a similar fashion.
The Wave movie will show you a good time and it’s held together with solid performances. However, the steady hand of its director Roar Uthaug obviously plays a big part in that. In fact, I also found out, that the same man directed last year’s, Tomb Raider, and that was a film I steered way clear of. Subsequently, now, I’ll have to check it out.
Finally, be warned. For the love of getting what you came for, watch it in the language it’s meant to be in. Most importantly, those that chose to not heed this warning have complained of emotionless voices, off-timing, and overall robotic-sounding dialogue.
I give The Wave
4 actors who can hold their breath for 3 minutes out of 5
- BEST TRUE STORIES NETFLIX: Only Mine is on Netflix, another story based on real events
The Wave Movie (Bølgen) 2015
- Directed by Roar Uthaug,
- Genres: Just one of many action-thriller movies, in the disaster film arena,
- Written by John Kåre Raake, Harald Rosenløw-Eeg,
- Released to limited Internet on the 4th March 2016, available on Netflix,
- Produced by Fantefilm,
- Distributed by Nordisk Filmdistribusjon & Magnolia Pictures
