PG-13 | 1h 57min | Action, Drama, History | 21 June 2019 (USA)
Russia. Year 2000. It’s summer, but you wouldn’t know it from the dreary northern landscape that greets us as the new disaster film “The Command” opens up. Although outside it may be frigid, the houses in a small, Russian naval town on the coast of the Barents Sea are warm.
One such home belongs to submariner Mikhail Averin (Matthias Schoenaerts, “The Mustang”) and his pregnant wife, Tanya (Léa Seydoux, “Zoe”). We witness scenes of familial love as the two lovebirds chase their young son around the house, and Mikhail shows the boy how to hold his breath underwater for long periods of time.
The year 2000 also marks nearly a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when economic woes had engulfed Mother Russia. It’s against this backdrop that we are introduced to the other members of the Kursk’s crew.
Funds are so tight that the navy isn’t able to pay the men their proper wages. As a result, Mikhail has to pawn his special mariner’s watch in order to be able to afford enough champagne and vodka for his best friend’s wedding. The wedding itself functions as an excellent plot device to show the strong sense of brotherhood among the men.
The following morning, the crew sets out into the icy waters of the Barents. A couple of the crew members are in the torpedo bay, tending to some of the munitions, when one of them detects some unusual heat signatures. A hydrogen leak is emanating from one of the torpedoes.
Captain Averin relays this information to his superiors, but it’s too late. Not only does the first torpedo explode, but also the entire torpedo bay becomes engulfed in flames, which detonates the rest of the Kursk’s payload, instantly killing most of the crew.
The Rescue Efforts
Back at headquarters, the crew’s superiors detect rather quickly the anomalous sonic dispersions caused by the explosions and immediately dispatch a full rescue detachment. However, it takes over 16 hours to locate the Kursk.What’s more, when their rescue submersible attempts to latch onto the submarine’s top hatch, its dilapidated equipment is unsuited for the critical task at hand.
The British are quick to offer their own naval aid to the Russian naval brass. After lots of balking on the Russians’ part, the Brit team eventually receives a reluctant go-ahead and is finally allowed onto the site of the unfolding disaster. Colin Firth plays British Commodore David Russell, who heads the Brits’ rescue effort.
The Russians’ main concern seems to be not wanting the Kursk—one of the most advanced nuclear submarines in the world—to fall into foreign hands. But that’s just part of the picture.
During that period of time, the Russians had been feeling rather crestfallen as a nation. To these proud people, the fall of the USSR represented a kind of fall from the world’s stage. One of the last vestiges of projecting power, at least to the outside world, was the Russians’ facade of maintaining a peerless military. As a result, pride sometimes outstripped common sense, and in many cases, proper safety measures.
Film Keeps You Glued to the Screen (and Spoiler Alert)
The film’s acting is pretty decent across the board, particularly Schoenaerts’s as the Kursk’s beleaguered captain. But Colin Firth turns in an exceptional performance as the intrepid British commodore who becomes increasingly frustrated by the Russian navy’s balking brass. He captures the film’s moments of glee and hopefulness when the Kursk’s crew members are heard by rescue crews, banging on the interior of the sub’s hull. He also broods in abject frustration and deep despair when it eventually becomes clear that the crew is doomed.
Ultimately, “The Command” is a tense film that is hard to watch in places. However, Thomas Vinterberg’s skills as a director must be commended in keeping eyes glued to screen.
A True Story
The real tragedy lies in actual history itself. Only 27 at the time, Lt. Capt. Dmitry Kolesnikov, the real-life commander of the Kursk, apparently foresaw his own death. According to The New York Times report on the event:“And the captain’s widow, Olga Kolesnikova, her face covered with tears, said her husband had a premonition of death before leaving on the Kursk’s last voyage and left his dog tags, a crucifix, and a poem as a remembrance.
“The couple had married only this year.
‘'‘And when the time comes to die,’ he wrote in the poem, ’though I chase such thoughts away, I want time to whisper one thing: My darling, I love you.''’
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