Kursk

We haven’t had this good of a submarine film since K-19. It's 100% impressive depressing drama... Especially when it gives the sailors and their families little hope that everything can turn out good after all. And you wish for it with them. However, probably every viewer knows how the events really played out, and that's why those scenes are so strong. Admittedly, I didn't expect much from The Command, but I ended up sitting in the movie theatre and not moving, filled with tension and feeling pretty miserable during the end credits. It is shot great (the directing and camera use the claustrophobic environment to the maximum and, for example, the quest for oxygen is unforgettable), Alexander Desplat's music did not disappoint and for me, the unknown actors - Colin Firth or Max von Sydow - give very believable performances. (2019-01-18)

Movies about submarines usually bore me, which fortunately I can't say about The Command. Vinterberg managed to record the infamous story of a great human tragedy, for which the Russian Admiralty is to blame, quite comprehensively and very realistically. I was infinitely distressed at the thought of how all those young men must have felt as they deliberately waited for death in a badly damaged submarine. Their families, losing their last vestiges of hope with each passing hour after the accident, probably need not be mentioned. Matthias Schoenaerts fought for survival at the bottom of the Barents Sea so fiercely and convincingly that I secretly hoped for his rescue. (80%) (2021-07-01)

I would like to draw your attention to Marigold's submarine dogma in advance: submarine = automatically * plus. Because according to all other criteria, Thomas Vinterberg shot only a slightly above-average genre template. A celebration of boyish friendship spiced with sentiment and two-dimensional characters. He tries to draw something more from the jerky screenplay by Robert Rodat (among others, Saving Private Ryan) through format changes, veristic filming and emphasis on wordless details (a boy as a silent witness and conscience). But there is simply nothing more in this film. The real case is devastating and could do without the extra drama. The film works because some of the sequences are catchy (underwater search for oxygen cartridges in one suffocating shot) and Schoenaerts does a decent job in the lead role, as does Firth in the supporting role. As a Kursk Memorial it is dignified, but above the surface the film does not release the conflict between the Hollywood template and the attempt to conceive it as a civil statement about the tragedy of ordinary people. The performances of broken mothers then inadvertently resemble bad theater. It's a shame, but the years in development hell didn't help. (2019-01-15)

I'm not a big fan of submarines and the Navy, so I went into this film more out of curiosity and it wasn't bad. The explosion in Kursk is filmed decently and the following submarine survival drama is filmed entertainingly though it definitely could have been grittier as well as more gripping. I wasn't bored but I'm not the target audience. However, for fans of submarines and movies based on true events, I recommend it. 60%. (2019-05-14)

The film's premise is excellent, but the execution faltered in places. I believe that entrusting the film to a different, perhaps more experienced director might have resulted in a better outcome. However, I could also be wrong. Thomas Vinterberg tackled a tragedy from recent history and presented it skillfully, but that was about it. Emotionally, it had some impact for most of its runtime, but I didn't develop a strong connection with the crew of the submarine from the perspective of a viewer. Yes, the main character was given ample screen time (it would have been surprising if he hadn’t), but this was not the case for the other members. As a creator, I might have considered giving these sailors more screen time, as they should be the focal point of the film, and also developing their characters more deeply to bring the characters closer to us. In terms of acting performances, I have no complaints; Matthias Schoenaerts did an excellent job in his role, and Max von Sydow shone in a supporting role. The film is technically well-made and feels very authentic, but don’t look for much more than that in it. I give it 66%. (2019-07-08)