Kursk

Since it is based on the true story of the K-141 Kursk submarine disaster, we already know the end of the story. So it was a true challenge for director Thomas Vinterberg (known for Jagten, Festen,...) to take a special approach for his movie. He made the clear choice to focus on the emotion and the human side of this tragedy, rather than on the political side. The result is a strong movie which succeeds in dragging you into the submarine itself and it's victims (and wifes). It's no coincidence that the aspect ratio shifts to wide during the whole submarine sequence and back to narrow (16:9) at the beginning and conclusion of the story. Or like the director himself said at the moviepremière in Ghent, Belgium: "Well ... you should see it"

I watch all films by Thomas Vinterberg. "Festen" was great; "The Hunt" was excellent. "Kursk" ("The Command") successfully recreates the tight life on a submarine. But it does not live up to its self-billing of a "true story." The film blames Navy admirals (sweet to see the old Max von Sydow one last time) for refusing foreign help. In fact, the new Russian President Vladimir Putin was the one who refused help for days. Moreover, Putin did not interrupt his Black Sea vacation to engage in the rescue of the sailors. It was not "Admiral Petrenko" as you allege in the film, but Russian President Putin himself, who met with the families in a closed doors multi-hour meeting. A new widow of the submarine sailor emotionally criticized Putin, and was forcibly tranquilized (!) and removed from the room.

Dear Vinterberg: were you scared to portray Russian President Putin in the film? If so, don't undertake such a film, or at the very least don't call it a "true story." Even later, when Larry King, asked Putin in an interview "What happened to the submarine?" -- Putin replied with a callous smirk "She drowned." The heart-breaking letter was written by the dying Dmitri Kolesnikov, the commander of the torpedo section, to his wife -- why not honor him by using the real name? You ascribed the letter to the submarine's commander-in-chief, which is false. Listen to a song "Captain Kolesnikov" By Yuri Shevchuk - it is true to real feelings from this tragedy:

"Who about death will tell us two truthful words, It is a pity the fallen sailors have no black boxes.

Pencil breaks, it's cold, it's dark -- Captain Kolesnikov is writing a letter to us."

It tells the story of 23 survivors on a Russian submarine, and how the rescue mission is handled by the government. It is a sad story, which makes it even more engaging. It is an emotional rollercoaster that takes you to a hopeful up, then a desperate down. The process is then repeated, and tears are likely to fall from viewers' eyes.

Most know about the Kursk incident yet know little otherwise. A terrible Cold War accident in which one of Russia's cutting edge subs sank due to an internal explosion - with survivors. The surviving crew was detected by the Russians who wouldn't ask for crucial help in the short window of saving those still alive. Expected? Well it's not a project such as The International Space Station - vastly different long-standing veils of secrecy dictate the Russian's inept posturing and faulty decisions. This is the story we haven't, mostly, been aware of. It's chilling as it depicts the human cost. This movie seems to pull few punches and doesn't bow to Hollywood-like bombast. It isn't meant to entertain so much as to enlighten with respectful homage given the crew. It succeeds and is a film that is easy to highly recommend.

The Kursk tragedy occurred in 2000 and the Russians refused help from the West to save their face and pride. But as this film depicts, the greatest tragedy was that 117 lives were lost through stubbornness and holding on to old behavior a la the Cold War.

The film is based on this event in 2000 and how the families were affected and their reaction to the lies forthcoming from the Navy Brass. This part is true, although no one really knows the actual suffering of the men on board the Kursk. The drama seen on board is fictional, but a lot of it was derived from 2 letters written and subsequently recovered.

A well made film and worth a watch. (Pun intended!)