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Tunnelen (2019)

Director:
Pål Øie
INTERNATIONAL TITLE
-
COUNTRY
Norway
GENRE
Thriller/Disaster
RUNNING TIME
105 minutes
RELEASED BY
Nordisk Film
Producer:
John Einar Hagen
Einar Loftesnes
Screenwriter:
Kjersti Helen Rasmussen


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Stein Thorbjørn Harr
Elise Ylva Fuglerud
Ingrid Lisa Carlehed ½
Ivar Mikkel Bratt Silset ½
Kurt Peter Førde
Rafa Daniel Alexander Skadal
Christian Per Egil Aske
Håkon Tor Christian Bleikli
Gunnar Jan Gunnar Røise
Laila Ingrid Anne Yttri
Andrea Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes
Tom Sigurd Sele
Anatol Igor Necemer
Randi Marit Røste
Sara Fanny Wear-Berg
David Øystein Martinsen
Mia Silje Breivik
Vegard Eldar Skar
Egil Kyrre Haugen Sydness
Haikeren Henrik Holm

 

Review

The wave of Norwegian disaster movies continues with Tunnelen, directed by Pål Øie (Villmark, Skjult). As with most films in the subgenre, this is formulaic stuff, but Tunnelen uses the formula well and to its own advantage. After an inviting intro in which we meet the large and diverse cast of characters whom will soon find themselves in or around the ominous tunnel of the title, Øie throws us into more than an hour of non-stop suspense. The film is well-paced and unapologetic, and the high tempo and brilliantly developed and filmed action-scenes ensure it feels less contrived than its siblings Bølgen and Skjelvet, despite some obvious narrative flaws and unnecessary (albeit funny) characters, such as that of Jan Gunnar Røise or Henrik Holm. The latter's talent is completely wasted here, with the part probably having ended up on the cutting room floor. In leading roles, Thorbjørn Harr, Ylva Fuglerud and Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes all give heartfelt performances, elevating what could otherwise have come off as strictly a genre-movie to a dramatically valid and poignant film.

Copyright © 20.01.2020 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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