Bølgen (The Wave) - (2015)

The Wave norwegian film review



Bølgen is a Norwegian foreign language film set in a tourist coastal town in the Geirangerfjord of Western Norway.

The film follows the narrative of the massive fjord collapsing and creating a tsunami on destructive path towards the small town.

Bølgen touches on a variety of themes including the importance of natural disaster preparedness, scientific land surveying procedures and the state of national emergency services for locations existing in environmental danger zones.



Synopsis


Bølgen’s main character is Kristian, a scientist who works at the local early warning station of Geiranger.

After years of working at the local posting he is about to work his last day before moving to a new job. On his last day everyone is in good spirits but Kristian can't shake the feeling that something isn't right.

He decides to analyze all the data at the station and comes to the haunting realization that there is a tangible risk of a rockslide occurring that could cause the local mountain to collapse in on itself.

He reports his findings to his supervisor, but as it's his last day his boss believes Kristian might just have a case of the nerves.

After pressuring his boss, they eventually decide to send a couple of scientists to visit the local mountains to check up on things.

But as you may suspect Kristian’s worst fears come to fruition and the fjord collapses with little time for the local townspeople to prepare for a devastating tsunami.


The remainder of the film follows Kristian, members of his family and scientists from the station who all try and save their loved ones as the tsunami blazes a trail of havoc on its way to the town.


Important Themes


As you can tell Bølgen is quite a unique film. It is Norway’s first disaster film and tells a gripping story.


It shows the devastating effects of a potential natural disaster and also tells a story of scientific research, survival and preparedness. 

Bølgen describes a very real event that could happen at any time for citizens living along the vast Scandinavian fjord region – especially along the Geirangerfjord.

Rockslides frequently occur in the fjord (here is a video of one from May of 2017) but all scientific research shows that it is only a matter of time before a large tsunami occurs that will devastate the region.

In 1905, a tsunami killed 60 people and in 1934 another tsunami (with a tidal wave 64 meters high) took the lives of 74 people while destroying the surrounding area.

However, scientists believe a much bigger tsunami is to come. And with the city of Geiranger becoming a city that over 700,000 tourists flock to annually a natural disaster could see causalities increase to hundreds or thousands.

Bølgen also does a great job in showing the scientific monitoring and research warning stations do on a day-to-day basis in Norway. As well as highlighting the work that many scientific organizations do to mitigate risks of future natural disasters.

Additionally, more work is being done to establish top tier alert systems in the event such a disaster.


A prime example of such in UMS, who work to provide alerts to all people in the vicinity of disaster areas.

Bølgen does a good job at showing how alerting systems function in such an event.


Conclusion


Altogether Bølgen is a great film which tells a story of a scientist and father doing all he can to save the people close to him.


The film outlines the dangers of living in a disaster zone and sheds light on the current systems that are in place to give adequate alerts to people residing in such areas.


Bølgen is a fantastic watch. The cinematography is stunning, providing breathtaking shots of the Norwegian fjords and the surrounding mountainside.


Like many Scandinavian films, Bølgen is a standout which merges genres brilliantly. It is a film you defiantly should consider watching.


Ali Tamachi

Alik is a marketer and writer who creates compelling "chef's kiss" worthy marketing and advertising collateral. Outside of his professional setting he is a big film nerd, loves reading, running and doing digital art. Feel free to follow him on his journey from the links below.

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