O Quebra Gelo

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.

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.

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.

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.