Tweekums This thriller is set in the early eighties; oil has been discovered in Norwegian waters but getting it ashore won't be easy as construction of the pipeline will require divers to work at unprecedented depths. As they prepare for test dives Norwegian divers are working alongside Americans, whose company has developed a secret gas mix that makes diving at such depths possible. This is vividly demonstrated in an early scene where Norwegian divers using regular air in a test chamber start hallucinating while an American in a separate chamber is fine.When the first dive starts something goes very wrong for brothers Petter and Knut Jensen. An accident leaves Knut dead and Petter wants answers. He is told that he made a briefly blacked out so made a mistake but he doesn't accept this explanation; especially when told that there is no recording of the video feed. He starts his own investigation that initially centres on the man in the diving bell who was supervising the air feed but later switching to trying to discover just what the 'secret ingredient' in the American gas mix is… something the company has no intention of telling him as the Norwegian government would have no reason to grant them a contract if they knew the secret so could do the work without outside help.I really enjoyed this taut thriller; the scenes underwater were very tense… even before things go wrong the situation is compared to walking on the moon. Once the accident happens the investigation is interesting; it makes a change to have an ordinary person carrying out an investigation rather than a police officer or private investigator. Petter's investigations raise several suspects and it looks as if somebody is willing to kill to stop him finding out after a contact 'accidentally overdoses'. There is also the possibility that those trying to stop him are working to protect a valuable business secret rather than cover up the cause of the accident. During the film there are plenty of tense moments as Petter gets into various potentially dangerous situations. The cast does a solid job; most notably Aksel Hennie who is rarely off screen in the role of Petter. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to those wanting a tense thriller that isn't reliant on non-stop action.

kosmasp It might feel like a TV movie of the week at times, but it does have an interesting story to tell and is far more decent than you might expect. And suspenseful for that matter. The underwater scenes look really good and the acting is up to the task as well (as the men were back when this unfolds).Not sure how much of the things shown, actually transpired, (this is based on real events during the 80s you see?) but the movie does a good job holding any viewers attention with people trying to find out what is actually going on ... will they find out? What consequences will there be either way though? It gets political at times obviously, but in a good way if there is one

Larry Silverstein Inspired by true events, and set in the 1970's, this Norwegian drama seems to lack punch in the way it is presented and stretches credibility at times. However, it did hold my interest enough to want to know how it would all turn out.The plot revolves around a huge oil and gas discovery in the North Sea, off the Norwegian coast, which could bring enormous wealth to Norway if a way can be found to lay a pipeline along the sea floor, which would transport the oil and gas to land. It's unknown, however, whether divers working at those severe depths can survive. Thus, working jointly with America, teams of divers from both countries will undergo testing as to whether this engineering feat will be possible.One of the Norwegian divers is Petter, portrayed by Aksel Hennie, who, on one dive, will black out momentarily thus failing to shut off a valve and lead to the death of his brother, working alongside him. When Petter finally emerges from the required decompression, he is driven to do anything he can to find out what really happened on the dive.Petter will begin to realize that there are nefarious forces at work here and the conspiracy to cover-up the event reach far beyond what he could imagine. The projected profits are so great from this venture, that the actions of the conspirators will eventually lead to murder and mayhem.In summary, this film, directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg, I thought might have been presented in a way where the tension was heightened more formidably, but I still found it fairly absorbing and interesting enough to maintain my interest to the end.

Sophie Landry I caught Pioneer, an oil rush thriller set in the early eighties, at the London Film Festival. It was featured as part of 'Thrill' and promised to keep me "on the edge of my seat". The backers, Friland Produksjon, are also responsible for the critically acclaimed Headhunters adapted from Jo Nesbø's novel of the same name and Erik Skjoldbjærg directed the original Insomnia in 1997. What's more, one of Scandinavia's foremost actors and the star of Headhunters, Aksel Hennie, plays Petter, a professional deep-sea diver on a dangerous quest 500 meters down the North Sea. Air composed the soundtrack, Wes Bentley plays a shady character, Norway has glorious scenery and someone dies. 106 minutes would fly by.Pioneer is that rare hybrid: an old school contemporary Norwegian film. The action takes place more than 30 years ago and the cinematography revisits the look and feel of classic late seventies thrillers to depict tensions between oil companies and state government. Here however, an over-reliance on grainy footage, amber and blue filters dims what could have been a series of eerie underwater voyages, as well as unfortunately, any real suspense. Instead it gives the audience a sensation akin to the claustrophobia of Das Boot without the sense of dread that pervaded it. Pioneer's omnipresent soundtrack creates an even greater disconnect where Das Boot had us trapped with a sombre Jürgen Prochnow inside a silent submarine during World War II.The premise is excellent. It centers on the discovery of large resources of oil and gas at the bottom of the frozen North Sea. We are at the very beginning of the Norwegian Oil Boom which resulted in Norway's prosperity and high standard of living. Petter and Knut (André Eriksen) are brothers and colleagues involved in government-funded petroleum explorations and highly dangerous diving tests conducted in the great depths of the North Sea to establish whether pipelines can be installed. Just as we get to know the main characters, tragedy strikes. A compelling actor in whose performance there was barely enough time to get invested is gone too soon.Pioneer is a well-intended production which had to make difficult stylistic choices to stretch a Scandinavian budget over expensive action scenes. It tries to be too many things at once and falls short of carrying significance beyond what is seen. Wes Bentley, so good in American Beauty, is confined to a redundant secondary role devoid of genuine purpose. He walks around looking sinister and utters a few English words here and there. Ironically, the dialog lacks depth. Clichés, particularly in the depiction of gender relations, often stand for character development. Obvious symbolism such as bodies of water representing femininity and a full moon to signal rebirth do not challenge the audience much.Erik Skjoldbjærg said he was "heavily influenced by The Conversation, Chinatown and All The President's Men" in his desire to revive the seventies conspiracy thriller. I wish he had also named the older 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick and exploited more of the dramatic Norwegian coast to better contrast deep sea-diving drama with conflicting human interests above ground.My verdict? Watch Insomnia on DVD and wait for Gravity.