The North Sea – Nordsjoen (2021)

Directed by: John Andreas Andersen | 104 minutes | action, drama, thriller | Actors: Kristine Kujath Thorp, Henrik Bjelland, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Bjørn Floberg, Anneke von der Lippe, Christoffer Staib, Ane Skumsvoll, Cengiz Al, Nils Elias Olsen

On the coast of Norway, an oil rig suddenly sinks into the North Sea. It’s unclear how the platform suddenly disappears into the sea, but during a rescue mission, submarine operator Sofia (Kristine Kjuath Thorp) learns that this is the beginning of a huge environmental disaster that will affect the entire world. Hundreds of oil rigs are about to suffer the same fate due to the unstable seabed. It is a race against time and action must be taken quickly to avoid catastrophe.

For Norway, the collection of oil rigs in the North Sea is a very important source of income. Millions of euros are earned by extracting oil and gas. However, this does lead to the necessary risks, namely the exhaustion of the seabed. The couple Sofia and Stian (Henrik Bjelland) both work for a company that is involved in the large-scale extraction of oil. After the collapse of the first oil rig, it appears that Stian has been left behind on the platform. Sofia doesn’t hesitate for a moment and decides to rescue him, along with her colleague Arthur (Rolf Kristian Larsen). ‘The North Sea’ has a nice pace and gets going quickly due to the developments. Despite the exciting soundtrack and the consequences that the collapse of the oil rigs can have, the film alone does not ensure that you are really grabbed. There are too many cliché scenes where it quickly becomes clear that some heroic action is imminent that ensures that something just happens in the nick of time. A scene with a ‘close call’ isn’t necessarily bad, but after a few times the believability goes away. Unfortunately, ‘The North Sea’ is full of moments like this that don’t make the gravity of the situation and the characters’ emotions interesting enough.

There is a clear message in ‘The North Sea’ that could have been more emphasized to make the film memorable. The film thus begins and ends with a ‘subtle’ hint to the fact that the Norwegian economy relies too much on the oil field and that an accident can have disastrous consequences for life in and around the North Sea. However, the focus is on Stian’s rescue, while there are many more interesting details in the global impact of the oil spill. Too bad, because we’ve seen the story of a couple fighting a natural disaster together (too) often. There are small hints here and there to the effects of drilling for oil, though those are quickly obscured by the predictable survival drama of a couple.

‘The North Sea’ is a standard disaster film that doesn’t dare to take any risks or has anything new to offer. There was more potential in the big picture of the story, which could have made the film unique. While there is a constant tension that makes time pass quickly, the emotional impact the film is eager to create is not palpable.