






 
|
 |
Pionér (2013)
    
|
Director:
Erik
Skjoldbjærg |
COUNTRY
Norway |
GENRE
Thriller/Historical |
INTERNATIONAL TITLE
Pioneer |
RUNNING
TIME
106 minutes |
|
Producer:
Christian Fredrik Martin |
Screenwriter:
Erik
Skjoldbjærg |
Review
Writer/director Erik Skjoldbjærg (Insomnia,
Nokas)
was evidently inspired by the 1970s political paranoia thrillers
(such as
The Conversation,
All the President's Men or
Three Days of the Condor) when making this film. And
why not stylize your film after that beautifully grey, brown and
gritty decade when making arguably the most archetypically 1970-ish
film in a while, portraying the Norwegian oil discovery and
subsequent boom.
Dependable box office star Aksel Hennie takes on the role as Petter,
a working-class deep-diver selected to be in a group of pioneers who
are to lay a new petroleum pipe at world-record depths from the oil
fields off the Norwegian coast and back to the mainland. They are
assisted by an American diving company specializing in deep-sea
diving, but when the first test dive ends in catastrophe thanks to a
freak accident, Petter starts suspecting that things aren't quite as
they appear to be, and that someone knows more about the hazards
than they are willing to divulge.
This
fine premise remains both interesting and valid throughout these 106
minutes, and the film looks good soaked in its 1970s homage. Still,
Skjoldbjærg's approach does give Pionér somewhat of an
identity crisis. We're never quite sure if the film wants to be a
truthful and informative document of these pioneering deep-divers
and their role during early days of the Norwegian oil adventure, or
if it simply wants to be a mystery thriller at the sacrifice of
realism. It seemingly starts off as the former, grows into the
latter, and then tries to steer its way back to the former again
towards the end. It only succeeds partially at this. There are too
many characters and situations that are made ominous just for the
sake of it (the Wes Bentley character standing out as the best
example), and the film thus seems a bit overplotted at times. And
there are a few too many situations with looming shadows and limping
sidekicks for it all to resemble a modern, real-life power struggle.
I'd rather have some of these replaced with a little more footage of
how these divers went about their job, something that would have
given the pivotal scene more weight as well. That being said though,
Pionér is a fine piece of filmmaking with plenty of cinematic
merit, and the busy Aksel Hennie does a fine job in propelling the
film forward.
|
|