O Quebra Gelo

THE ICEBREAKER, tells a story, apparently based on true events in 1985, of a Soviet ship which gets stuck in ice and is in danger of being hit by an iceberg, all the while waiting for help which, due to Soviet bureaucracy, may not arrive in time.

The strongest point of this film are the visuals: some of the landscape scenes, whether real or CGI, are simply breathtaking. There is also personal drama involving two rival captains which is used to convey social commentary on Soviet culture and the various inefficiencies and injustices it brought about.

Unfortunately, the lousy dubbing kept taking me out of the movie. Technically, it is so bad that at points we know exactly when the original sound is being silenced so that we can hear the dubbed voices. The first time I heard it, I laughed out loud at this amateurishness, which stands quite in contrast to the rest of the film. Also, a kid in the film was dubbed by an electronically distorted adult voice, which sounded just bizarre.

The ridiculously poor quality of the dubbing made it hard for me to evaluate the dramatic aspects of the film because it kept taking me out of it. It also gave me reason to doubt the quality of the translation. At least the overall story, interlacing personal drama with sociocultural commentary, is a good one, and that is what I went by.

This film is mainly for fans of maritime drama and those who enjoy beautiful icy landscapes, but either way, if you do not know Russian, watch the subtitled version.

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.

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.

A Russian language film (I saw the English dubbed version) somewhat based on true events set in 1985. In Antartic waters the ship encounters an iceberg and the Captain is replaced when the ship becomes stuck in the ice. The rest of the story is the tension between the crew and commander under increasingly difficult conditions and uncertainty of rescue. The acting is good throughout and even with the somewhat sloppy translation the individuals and their responses to the situation generate genuine emotional involvement. Since it's based on historical events, you sort of know how it turns out, but you can't resist pulling for the crew and hoping they all survive. Someone called this a propaganda piece, but I disagree since it hardly shows the Soviet state in a good light. I lost count of the negative comments made by the crew regarding the bureaucracy they feel has abandoned them. In fact the representative of the State is painted as a true company tool (something which seems to transcend nationality and politics) and is possibly the only real villian in the film.

I have rarely found a Russian movie pleasant. This one is realistic and very interesting above all because the life of men locked up inside a ship is always a great adventure. The quality of the events in the plot is also remarkable.