Everest

Dir: Baltasar Kormákur

2015

****

Baltasar Kormákur's compelling 2015 film tells the tragic story behind what is known as the 1996 Everest disaster. It was the deadliest day on the mountain up to that point with twelve people in total perishing in the bitter cold weather conditions. It highlighted the dangers of the commercialization of Everest at the time and Kormákur's film goes some way in asking why people still continue to tackle the deadly mountain, given that so many people have died since, with 2014's record of sixteen dead broken just one year later in 2015 with eighteen reported as perished. The script was written using material picked from several books written by people who were on the mountain that day and survived. There is an interesting scene whereby Jon Krakauer, a journalist who was writing about the expedition for a well-known magazine, asks everyone why they want to reach the top of Everest knowing full well how dangerous it was. His answers were varied with most people suggesting simply because 'It's there' but a couple of the climbers had personal and rather touching reasons. By the end of the film, Kormákur delivers the message, quite tastefully, that no matter how poetic the reasons may sound, they just aren't good enough and the risks are simply not worth it. Since the event, many of the survivors have written about their ordeal and many of them still disagree with each other about the turn of events. It's no surprise that some disagree with Kormákur's script but personally I think it is more than balanced, with no one person or organisation blamed for the deaths, rather that everyone knew the risks, the conditions killed the climbers and a lack of organisation between expedition companies didn't help. The character development of each individual was nicely handled, there is the utmost of sympathy given by the script writers and actors, giving the film the poignancy the story deserves. This isn't the big action/disaster film many might expect and while there are miraculous instances of bravery and survival against all odds, it is at heart a touching and tragic drama. For every scene of action or peril, there is a scene of a loved one at home, waiting by the phone. The acting is superb and the structure and direction of the film is perfectly delivered. It's certainly not what you'd call a popcorn movie, the conclusion stayed with me for some time after viewing, which is a reflection of a film well made. A film that deserved much more recognition upon release.

The Deep

Dir: Baltasar Kormákur

2012

*****

2012's The Deep tells the amazing true story of Guðlaugur Friðþórsson and his miraculous survival against all odds. On the 11th March 1984, Friðþórsson and his fellow crew went out in their fishing boat off the coast of Iceland's Westman Island. Only Friðþórsson made it back. Due to miscalculations on the size of the attached trenchers, the boat capsized, trowing half of the crew in the water and trapping the other half in the hull. Friðþórsson tried to help his fellow crewmen but to no avail, they all died quickly of hypothermia in the ice cold sea. Friðþórsson somehow swam all the way to the island, was crashed against the rocks and when he did finally get onto land, he had to walk for miles over rough lava rocks to get to the nearest dwelling. Baltasar Kormákur's drama tells it how it happened from Friðþórsson's testimonies but doesn't leave the story there. We then find out what happened to him after the event, how he was thought of in his small village, what the media made of him and about the various science experiments performed on him. The film focuses on one man's survival from a scientific point of view and from a mental angle. His body survived due to reasons that are still unclear but how does a person live a normal life after such a tragic event with a media frenzy that followed? How do you live with being labeled a hero when you didn't actually save anyone but yourself? Needless to say, Friðþórsson is as remarkable as his story is. Kormákur's direction is awesome, from the beautifully lit action of a sinking ship, to the pseudo-documentary footage of Friðþórsson's flashbacks of childhood and escaping the Island as a child during the 1973 eruption of Eldfell, the Island's active Volcano. Real documentary footage featured on TV news is cleverly reconstructed and aspects of Friðþórsson's turn of events brought to life exceptionally. It's a complex story treated with a simple elegance. One of the best of 2012. 

Contraband
Dir: Baltasar Kormákur
2012
***
Modern action thrillers aren't what they used to be but I found something quite refreshing about Baltasar Kormákur's Contraband. As over the top as the story was in places there was still an element of realism that made the whole thing believable. The common method of ship smuggling was an eye opener and was educational as well as entertaining. The cast was pretty impressive with each actor bring their own positives to the production, whether it be in a straight role or as a real-life cartoon character. My only complaint here is that I thought the often brilliant Lukas Haas was criminally underused. The use of hand-held cameras was a good move, action movies aren't usually the best films for them but here it works well. Contraband has everything an entertaining action thriller should have, it's never too serious and never too silly and has plenty of thrills and tension.

2 Guns
Dir: Baltasar Kormákur
2013
***
A rough and tumble action buddy film in the classical sense. Unfortunately the trailers gave a little bit too much away, so many of the big surprises never reached their full potential for me which was a shame and the fault of the post-production team - will they ever learn? It's entertaining throughout, with many twists and turns that keep the story relatively fresh but I felt the ending let it down. It was all going so well and then it seems the writers just ran out of time and/or ideas. Good but should have been better.