stian-11

The story is a bit surreal, and may be a bit difficult to get really engaged in - though all the actors do a great job. But the truly magnificent cinematography by Sergei Astakhov is what makes this movie a little gem. It's like watching a moving painting. It's simply marvelous!

Sundquist and Eidsvold play the two deep sea divers, who agree to do a quick unscheduled dive before taking their Christmas vacation, to help an oil company who's got a oil-valve caught in a trawl. The dive is to take only 5 minutes, and the divers will get a nice bonus.

But things go wrong. The diving bell gets tangled in the trawl, and while trying to hoist up the bell, they tear asunder the oxygen tanks. Suddenly the bell is stuck, and the crew is unable to get it up. Caught in a diving bell at the bottom of the sea, rapidly running out of air, both the divers and the crew on the surface are racing against time to find a solution; how to get the two men up ALIVE!

This is truly a claustrophobic and nerve wrecking thriller. I've seen it several times, and each time is equally exciting. The impact of the situation is played out brilliantly by actors Bjorn Sundquist and Eindride Eidsvold. And Marika Lagercrantz, who plays Sundquist's wife, plays on a well of emotions. Simply perfect!

It's a brilliant film, and it's a shame that it's not released on DVD. I'd like to see it get a proper treatment, and a well deserved larger audience!