K19, THE WIDOWMAKER
US, 2002, 128 minutes, Colour.
Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Peter Sarsgaard, Joss Ackland, John Shrapnel, Donald Sumpter.
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
One of the challenges of a submarine film is that the locations are mainly limited to the interior of the submarine (not a particularly interesting set of rooms unless one is very interested in the technology) and that the characters are mainly limited to the crew (which does present a wide range of types). As time goes on, it is even more difficult to make an original submarine movie. Both action fans and the cinema buffs will be thinking of The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide and, perhaps, Das Boot. K 19, with its Russian characters and the antagonism with the US are reminiscent of Red October and this plot seems like a Russian replay of Crimson Tide except that Gene Hackman is a far more vigorous, even charismatic, commander than Harrison Ford and, despite Liam Neeson's pleasing presence, Denzel Washington seems a more effective insubordinate. So, what has K19 to offer?
It is based on a true story which was covered up until the collapse of the Soviet Empire, a 1961 Cold War clash where the Russian nuclear submarine is not fully secure and where the captain drives his crew to extremes. Kathryn Bigelow shows a skill in directing the action, but with a taciturn and driven Harrison Ford in command and Liam Neeson finally coming down on the side of socialist solidarity rather than humane liberalism in his clash with the captain, the film lacks the explosive human drama and the ideological clash that were so compelling in Crimson Tide. Even the issue of Russians asking US help when the nuclear core is melting and men have been contaminated does not have the tension such a situation would have evoked in reality. Like the K19 itself, this film is large and potentially capable of dramatic action. But, it is large and sometimes lumbering, not fully secure in itself and peopled by characters who are more symbolic of ideology than dynamic.
1. An interesting submarine story? The traditional films involving submarines? The submarines themselves? Underwater? Dangers? Repairs? Military involvement?
2. The film based on a true story, the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, Soviet commanders, tensions with the United States? Possibilities for war? The situation in 1961 – and further tensions in 1962?
3. The Russian settings, the submarine and its size, exteriors and interiors, engine rooms, nuclear arms, ordinary cabins, meal areas…? An authentic feel for the life within the submarine?
4. The Russian authorities, naval, political, KGB, obedience and expecting orders to be obeyed without question? Loyalties to the motherland? Impositions on the military? The demands, not listening to representations? The difficulty with shoddy equipment, the limitations in the building, supplies? The consequences? The trial of the commander and the captain speaking up on his behalf? The secrecy around the episode, the captain acquitted, but never commanding submarine again? The later transition to the Berlin Wall coming down, the captains meeting, the 28th anniversary, assembling at the cemetery, toasting the dead – and their never being called heroes because the episode was an accident and not in active warfare?
5. Introduction to Polenin, his role in the submarine, his men, relationships with them, the trial, the equipment, the attack and the simulation? The submarine unable to win out? The reactions of the authorities? The appointment of Vostrikov over Polenin? Polenin and his loyalty?
6. The background of Vostrikov, his father as a hero but then sent to the gulag? The prospects for himself? His personality, serious, orders from the authorities, his interactions with Polenin, getting loyalty, meeting the other men, taking command?
7. The bulk of the film showing the preparation of the submarine, making do with the lack of proper supplies? The accidental deaths even in the building? The doctor being run over? The nickname for the submarine as K19 Widowmaker?
8. The launch, the champagne bottle not breaking, the sense of bad luck, the authorities watching?
9. The detail of the practical running of the submarine, the difficulties with the reactor, the various personnel, the expertise, those take responsibility, going into the core, radiation, radiation illness, the subsequent deaths?
10. The difficulty in repairs, their being out at sea? The commands from Moscow? The American destroyer being close?
11. The issue of contacting the Americans, the captain, Polenin, the other officials, the gun on the captain, Polenin reversing this?
12. The men, on the submarine, at sea, the helicopters, the destroyer, the Americans? Cutting off contact with Moscow?
13. The confrontation is the captain, Polenin and his wise advice, the detail of the rescue?
14. The fiasco of this operation? The consequences of the men, for the commanders? The trials? The secrecy?
