The Deep (2013)

Simply Perfect

Sadly Over-hyped

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This film is based on a real life drama where an Icelandic fishing vessel sinks and 5 crew are drowned. The 6th member of the crew survives hours in bitterly cold sea and swims miles to an island where he is rescued. The acting is brilliant and a realistic portrayal of the fisherman's ordeal. I also liked the before and after build up of the main character's lifestyle and the setting of Icelandic folk living in basic and difficult conditions but sharing a camaradie and kinship. Scientists were baffled as to how this apparently unfit man survived the extreme conditions and he became something of a celebrity and underwent investigative tests in America and UK. In the end he returned to his old ways of life but I think as a wiser and better man. He was a simple hardworking regular guy who survived extreme conditions through metabolism but also his dogged determination. I found it particularly moving to see footage of the real life person.

This film has the air of a docu-drama, and I believe it sticks closely to real events. The drama is gripping though - it's an amazing story of survival and the gruelling ordeal which the fisherman Gulli went through in the North Atlantic. Amazingly, it was almost light-hearted and there is no lack of humour although it was a tragic story as well. I was wondering in advance whether this would be a frightening film, but it wasn't. Every person portrayed appeared real and it was easy to identify with them. The story of Gulli's miraculous survival, followed by the reaction of the media and scientists kept my interest. I'm a scientist and so I was fascinated by the implications of the physiology of this man and how he adapted to extreme exposure to cold temperatures. I presume that other people who find sub-zero temperatures easy to deal with may also have adaptations, and science needs to find out more. No one can know how they will react until they are in a life or death situation. Gulli's matter-of-fact response was incredible.The other thing which impressed me was the authenticity of the settings, the scenery of the sea and the Icelandic islands. It was beautifully shot. Authentic news footage of the eruption of the volcano on the Westman Islands was included, and new scenes with the actors blended seamlessly with that. I have been to Iceland and watched films about that eruption, so I recognised this. I've also walked on a lava field on Iceland, but I was fortunate to be wearing walking boots. I can't imagine walking on that surface barefoot for hours.I was captivated by this film and I recommend it - very inspiring and informative on so many levels.

The Review: Based on a true story, The Deep is a very simple, but incredibly moving film. There's nothing really out of the ordinary when it comes to Gulli. He's a chain smoking, hard working man, who lives a rather uneventful life with his friends. It's this seemingly tedious lifestyle that makes the tragic ship accident so much more powerful. When Gulli does his best to rescue his friends, and eventually is left in the ocean alone, it's his rather normal life that shows what a regular person can be capable of to survive.Audiences don't just watch Gulli bobbing around in the ocean for the entire film, although it certainly creates some of the most tense scenes of the movie. When Gulli finally finds his way home, this is where the real challenges start to appear. Hailed as a hero for what Gulli views simply as trying to stay alive, he quickly becomes a science oddity. One scientist convinces Gulli to basically be studied in an attempt to find out how he survived. At first, Gulli almost seems excited to be considered different, but he quickly realizes that it's not important how he survived, only that he did and his friends didn't.When Gulli finally returns to his home, the film becomes intensely emotional. While out in the ocean, Gulli made a number of promises, reasoning with God to give him just one more day. He begins to make good on those promises, and it's impossible to not become teary eyed. When Gulli visits the home of one of his friends who died on the boat, and consoles his wife and children, you'd be better off bringing some tissue with you to stop the waterworks. It's an amazing performance from Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Gulli, and a stunning film from director Baltasar Kormákur.This will stay with you for sometime after viewing.For More Check out www.thefilmpodcast.co.uk

This is a fairly enjoyable, yet surprisingly brief story. It's more like an hour-long television drama than a proper film.Not a whole lot happens. The story is very simple: the lead character is involved in a disaster at sea and must stay alive in icy Atlantic waters. Apparently it's a true story, and we get to meet the real hero at the end of the film.There are certainly worse movies out there. My main gripe about this one is that there's just not a whole lot to it.I think some of the best films these days are coming out of Scandinavia (I consider Iceland Nordic). "The Hunt" and "Headhunters" were very good, and I look forward to watching more of them.