K-19: The Widowmaker
It’s quite a wonder to look back at the pathetic nature of the Soviet Union during the “Cold War” and the lame, desperate way they tried to keep up with America in both the space race and the arms race, with incompetent engineering that resulted in many deaths and the lack of religious tolerance that essentially created a nation of drones with nothing to believe in except their current, harsh cold reality. That is what is explored in Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow’s 2002 drama about a real-life incident from the early 60s where the overanxious Communist leaders just could not WAIT to station a submarine about 400 kilometers from the U.S. Eastern seaboard so they could have a quick, easy way to launch nuke missiles at us in case a war broke out. Instead, the bumbling Russian sailors on board were so busy bumping into each other that a massive meltdown resulted in the sub’s nuclear reactor, threatening the lives of all of them and worse, having the potential to cause a nuclear explosion that would surely have kicked off World War 3 unless drastic measures were taken. This results in a tense story that sustains enough momentum to keep the viewer hooked during its running time, even if authenticity was not Bigelow’s priority, as the whole cast speaks English and many actors (particularly Liam Neeson) have trouble maintaining a consistent Russian accent throughout the film. As the captain of the sub, we get the one and only Harrison Ford, and while it’s hard to buy him as a Russian in the early scenes, by the halfway point his accent and demeanor win the day so that the viewer accepts him in the role. Ford should also be commended with taking the character in a rather unsympathetic direction, showing a ruthless lack of compassion when he risks his men’s lives and refusing to accept help from the Americans even when things seem bleakest. Neeson as the second in command has trouble dropping his thick Irish brogue for a Russian one as previously stated, but is a commanding enough presence as an actor that the viewer can see why the men are loyal to him. Among the others, only Peter Sarsgaard really registers as the fresh-faced young engineer in charge of the reactor, while the rest of the Russian characters just seem to blend together (as Russians usually do). When the time comes that the reactor needs a major repair lest they risk Armageddon, that’s when we get to see which sailors are willing to go in and work on it for ten minutes at a time (without protection since the sterling Soviet military has failed to provide suits), only to come out and be dying and melting due to the overwhelming radiation poisoning. The result of this is the film really stops being political and becomes about the human element and what it’s like to willingly give your life in order to quite literally save the world, which is what these brave young men actually did, although their story could not be known for decades afterward due to KGB constraints and even then, the men who died were not even so much as commended for their bravery since the Russians didn’t believe in rewarding individuals for acts not committed in wartime. Overall, a depressing, yet heroic tale of human bravery while under the veil of an oppressive regime…
8/10