Budget cuts have meant that he and his colleagues have not received their pay in months, but the submariners of the Oscar II-class submarine Kursk still head out into deep waters. A secondary explosion of the remaining torpedoes rips a hole through the submarine's forward hull, sending the ship to the sea bed. This is something which will disturb some audiences more than others, yet I can’t help but regard it as a limitation. The film was scheduled to be released through DirecTV Cinema on 23 May 2019, before being released in a limited release on 21 June 2019, by Saban Films. What sank the Kursk was, in the immediate aftermath, the subject of various conspiracy theories – some propagated by the Russians themselves – which claimed everything from a collision with US spy vessel to unexploded Second World War mines and mystery missiles aboard the sub had caused the tragedy.

Kursk - The Last Mission DVD - Fact based Submarine Story Kursk - The Last Mission DVD - Fact based Submarine Story

The film accurately portrays what is now accepted to have really happened: a hydrogen peroxide leak in one of the sub’s HTP (high test peroxide) torpedoes. In contrast to that, even if it is to some extent a fictionalised version, Kursk is, of course, based on fact. When a practice torpedo explodes inside the nuclear-powered vessel, the submersible becomes rooted at the bottom of the Barents Sea. Schoenaerts and Seydoux doubtless do this for themselves but many of the supporting cast are presumably dubbed, and this only ceases to be a relevant factor when we have scenes featuring Royal Navy officers including Commodore David Russell played by Colin Firth. It’s an unlikely lurch toward the multiplex for a director who once co-founded the Dogme 95 movement with Lars von Trier and there are some interesting stylistic choices at play.

But, as depicted in the film, the once-powerful Russian Navy was vastly depleted and under crippling financial strain by 2000. On the one hand, this is a traditional tale of jeopardy, a rescue bid to save the lives of those who survive when an explosion sends a submarine to the seabed. We also have interview shows which feature people from an eclectic mix of the entertainment industries.

Kursk: The Last Mission review – devastating drama tackles Kursk: The Last Mission review – devastating drama tackles

I have to admit that before viewing, I knew nothing at all about the Kursk submarine disaster, and so can not comment on the historical accuracy of the events portrayed on screen. As we meet Mikhail and his fellow sailors, they’re preparing for a wedding, a final hurrah before they head undersea for a weapons test. However, the very fact that it is based on true events adds an extra chilling layer to an already tension filled and heartbreaking experience.

Kursk (UK: Kursk: The Last Mission, US: The Command) is a 2018 disaster drama- thriller film directed by Thomas Vinterberg, based on Robert Moore's book A Time to Die, about the true story of the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster. In this film, fresh names have been given to the main characters and no mention is made of the fact that the Russian President who came under fire at the time was one Vladimir Putin.

Kursk: what really happened in the submarine disaster? Kursk: what really happened in the submarine disaster?

As a disaster movie, the film has some nice production values, but lacks some of the suspense or drama that would have made it good. The K-141 Kursk was an Oscar-class sub, with a double hull and nine watertight compartments, reportedly powerful enough to withstand a torpedo hit. When it gets under the water and the accident occurs, the action flits between underwater survival situations (freezing to death, diminishing oxygen) and dry-land dramas as the Russians refuse help from the international community (aka Colin Firth in sensible knitwear) over sheer pride and the families fight for news of their loved ones, Seydoux getting some meaty scenes in the process. There’s also a strong turn from Colin Firth who plays real-life British commander David Russell whose attempts to help the rescue mission were rejected.According to The Hollywood Reporter, [16] EuropaCorp's president, Luc Besson, wanted to shift the story's focus to the rescue mission rather than the politics behind the disaster. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2018, where Thomas Vinterberg (director) and Artemiy Spiridonov (actor) presented the film in English and Russian languages. Captain-Lieutenant Mikhail Averin prepares for an exercise in the Barents Sea by the Russian Northern Fleet. He’s facing the seeming inevitability of death, having left his pregnant wife and three-year-old son on land, stranded on the bottom of the ocean with his surviving shipmates, one of whom was left fatherless when he was also aged three. Time is running out for Russian Captain Mikhail Averin (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his crew, as fire engulfs the vessel starving them of oxygen.

Kursk The Last Mission DVD 2019 Region 2 BBFC 13 Colin Firth Kursk The Last Mission DVD 2019 Region 2 BBFC 13 Colin Firth

Vinterberg makes the interesting choice of bookending the film with a squeezed aspect ratio, only opening out in the close quarters of the sub that makes it simultaneously intimate and epic. Admiral Grudzinsky, commander of the Northern Fleet, initially believes there are no survivors, but immediately tapping is heard through the hull of the submarine and the Russians deploy a rescue submersible. The deadlock causes anguish for the relatives and loved ones, in particular Tanya (Seydoux) whose husband Mikhail (Schoenaerts) is captain of the Kursk. This results in the film being solid as entertainment, but poor as drama and sending any kind of message about the falability of power.The film aims for, but doesn’t entirely successfully achieve how the families fought for information as to what is happening to their loved ones on the stricken submarine and what is being done to save them.