The Burning Sea is a Norwegian disaster film directed by John Andreas Andersen. Norwegian cinema seems to be at the forefront of high-quality disaster films, such as The Wave, The Quake, The Tunnel, and now The Burning Sea. These films are of the same level or even higher quality than Hollywood disaster films which merely indulge in the action (entertainment) side. The Burning Sea stars Kristine Kujath Thorpe, Henrik Bjelland, Rolf Kristian Larsen and Bjørn Floberg. The film was released by streaming platform Amazon Prime last week.
Sofia (Thorpe) is a “pilot” of an underwater mini-robot who one day gets the task of diving into a collapsing offshore oil refinery. Oil company experts found that this subsidence anomaly was unnatural, which could be caused by a single layer of bare oil being sucked in continuously for decades. The company is pulling all its employees at hundreds of oil refineries in Northern Norway, but Sofia’s lover, Stian (Bjelland), is left behind for some reason. The development is increasingly precarious, causing the authorities to take extreme measures before the oil spill spreads throughout northern Europe. Sofia, by all means, tries to go offshore to save her lover.
Norway, with its unique geographical condition, is indeed prone to disasters. Could this be what prompted the filmmakers to develop stories about what would be worst if the disaster struck? Counted with The Burning Sea, four films have been on the same topic. This time, environmental issues have been inserted straightforwardly, outside of the action thrillers, which are similar to Hollywood films. My question is now a little more scientific, can this happen? I don’t think filmmakers can be that stupid with a mission to provide shock therapy so that the world is aware of this issue.
The Burning Sea is an ambitious disaster film with substantial environmental issues and proves that the Norwegian film industry has been at the top of the genre in recent years. Visually and technically, these Norwegian disaster films already look very well established. The Burning Sea makes Deepwater Horizon look like an inferior film, starring Mark Wahlberg, though Horizon’s story is based on actual events. For me, these films are not about the action but the message. Earth always has a way of balancing itself, whether we do it or nature itself. We have to choose.
