Ledokol

An iceberg breaks friendly ice for this Soviet era survival tale. Between Soviet bureaucracy and Russian spirit, a ship and its crew finds itself stalled in Arctic waters with winter's ice advancing. Adding to bureaucratic changes from one seemingly self determined and reckless captain whose near colliding mishap with an iceberg proves too much, this story draws from a number of culminating points which might have served well for hindsight risk analysis. A crew's mutiny adds to the drama of an ending that were more likely a slow moving but still entertaining Sebastian Jünger story. Fortunately for the crew such tale neither ends on a note of deep tragedy and what once might have been an omen of the crew's death serves to provide their safe passage.

The story is pretty interesting, but it feels choppy, and incoherent. I get the feeling the editing is the problem. On top of that, you are watching a Russia movie with English over dubbing. In spite of these things, the movie is still intriguing. I wouldn't call it spellbinding . . but it keeps your interest. Olga Filimonova is stunningly beautiful. // The Bushwacker 10/1/2021.

Ledokol surprisingly turned out to be a good Russian drama. Good picture, cast and storyline. The dynamics of the film is slowly swinging. There is little action for the first 30 minutes and there is action only in the beginning. But the second half is much more interesting. Surprisingly, Ledokol conveys well the atmosphere of people's survival in a confined space in extreme conditions. It seems that everything is just filmed, without special effects, without CGI and other things. And how the viewer believes in what is happening. Well, in general, the realism of what is happening is not bad. The final was well adapted for Happy End. In general, if you want a good Russian movie without a star cast, then Ledokol is a great choice.

A Russian disaster film; A story about an ice-breaking ship that collides with a huge iceberg and is forced to drift along the coast of Antarctica. Based in part on real events that occurred in Antarctica in 1985, this film wastes no time in propelling us into the action. The cinematography is impressive. While the soundtrack is a bit too melodramatic at times and there are a few continuity problems, overall it serves up engaging drama. The struggle for leadership and direction between a new martinet captain and a younger demoted captain is interesting, touching on themes about unquestioned power.

The US dvd audio mix is cheep and poorly done. I wish it had the original audio with English subtitles. They turn down the audio and dub the English over the original mix, much of the action and music is muted.

Probably would like it more if it was the original audio.