Manobra Mortal

Etter Rubicon (After Rubicon) is tense and realistic, and keeps you on the seat all way. A Norwegian classic before the Norwegian boom in the mid nineties.

Two boys are found sick with strange symptoms on a boat in the Northern sea. Doctor Hoff can't help them, and they die. He later finds the same symptoms on a sick cat, the only living found on the boat Rubicon that drifts in the sea. The secret services try to keep this a secret, and Hoff starts his own investigations. He finds dark secrets.

Well acted and great suspense in a story that is very realistically filmed in a seaside environment. A film that creeps under your skin, and for Norwegian movies in the eighties, it's one of the very best. Though movie-making has come a long way in Norway since then, this is really a decent thriller.

Well worth a watch!

I am sure that this movie accomplishes a lot compared to what ever its budget was. The setting and the story cleverly avoids needing a big cast or crowds. I am also sure that the story touched upon themes that were quite relevant around the time of its release. But now, almost 30 years later, it completely failed to captivate me at any level.

The villains of the story are completely boring, and their motives are highly questionable. While its easy to look back at thrillers like this and call them naive, there's really no way around it. Maurstad's characters doesn't seem to have reflected over his situation at all, which makes his role in the narrative hard to believe (throughout the movie). The faith of the young boys and their mother could have evoked quite powerful emotions, but it's largely glossed over.

The direction, soundtrack and even the actor's performances are good enough for an entertaining movie. It's the story that's the weak link that makes it all fall apart.