Customer Reviews

Baltic Storm

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The sad tragic case of the MV Estonia a ferry which sank under very mysterious circumstances in September 1994 with a huge loss of life; 852 people from 17 countries died and only 140 odd survived. Baltic Storm is an attempt to bring to the World's attention some of the lies, misconceptions and cover ups involved in the story. Greta Scachi character is based upon German journalist Jutta Raabe who did her own investigation into the sinking. Anyone expecting a traditional 'disaster type' movie may be dissapointed, in fact the sinking and scenes on the Estonia are all too brief - perhaps out of respect for the families of the victims. Its a thought provoking movie and while some scenes do tend to get a bit corny (the split screen techniques) Its a pity this movie did not receive a wider distribution as perhaps it would have brought more attention to the tragedy. As a companion piece read Drew Wilsons excellent Book 'The Hole' and look at some of the many websites on the tragedy and cover up. A good thought provoking tale.

In 1994, the passenger ferry "Estonia" sank in the waters off the North Sea on a journey from Tallin, Estonia to Stockholm, Sweden. The disaster was quickly ruled to be the result of natural causes. However, a German journalist spent the next ten years investigating the tragedy, and came up with evidence that the ship was carrying arms and contraband from the remains of the former USSR to be sold on the black market in Stockholm. The movie chronicles this reporter's quest for the truth. Greta Scacchi brings heart and guts to her performance as the journalist, and Jurgen Prochnow delivers a poignant portrayal of a survivor of the tragedy united with the reporter as they search for answers. Donald Sutherland plays a mysterious figure who perhaps has all the answers. The film is tense, emotional, beautifully shot -- a gripping political thriller.

Reuben Leder's film reminds me of the fact-based political thrillers of Costa-Gavras--films such as "Z" or "Missing." Ordinary people become entangled in the dangerous intrigues of competing intelligence services. Juergen Prochnow and Greta Scacchi are excellent, and Donald Sutherland is his usual brilliant self. The great human tragedy at the center of this movie is real, and Leder keeps the tension before, during, and after the event at a high level. I heartily recommend this film.

You expect to see a low budget Titanic-type rip off. Instead, it's a film about two ordinary human beings searching for the truth behind a tragedy -- one personal, the other professional -- in a world of intrigue and power. Eventually, despite constant tension and danger, an answer of sorts is found. But it is how that search profoundly changes the two characters is what connected me to the movie. Terrific acting by Greta Scacchi, Jurgen Prochnow, and Donald Sutherland. I highly recommend 'Baltic Storm'.

The thing I most appreciated about Baltic Storm was that the film enabled me to see this tragedy from several different perspectives. From the perspective of the survivors, the community, and the perpetrators. This film shows the dangers of blind patriotism, and some people in our adminstration would do well to see it. The acting is intense and the pace is relentless. Highly recommended.

I vaguely remembered the disaster that this movie was based on. Instead of a "Titanic" type movie, what I found was a gripping personal story about two ordinary people with extraordinary guts as they went up against powerful forces in their quest to learn the truth behind the sinking. Without giving away the plot, this was no natural disaster. The filmaking was a mixture of objective reality and newsreel type footage which was seemlessly integrated. Well worth a look.

Baltic Storm tells the story of a courageous journalist out to find the truth about a multi-government cover-up. It is a great movie with a tightly-paced script and direction. It poses the question, ever more pertinent given today's politics, what do our governments cover up in the name of protecting the world's balance of power? What information is too sensitive to be public, and to whom is the truth owed? The filmmakers did an excellent job of making powerful arguments for both the protagonists and the villains. You couldn't help but feel for the Russian operative trying to provide for his grandson, and his argument about protecting Russia's patrimony was moving. It is rare that a film can truly help you to understand the mindset of someone responsible for something as abhorrent as the sinking of the Estonia. And Donald Sutherland and Jurgen Prochnow turned in fantastic performances

I love this stuff. I'm a big fan of 24- and, hey, there is a sutherland in this movie. I won't give away the plot, but it is complicated and engaging. The movie was really well acted and intricately conceived. The score is a bit to Euro for me, but the movie made me really interested in this disaster and potential cover-up (check out the Discovery documentary).

In September 1994, the Baltic Sea ferry Estonia sank killing 852 of her 989 passengers and crew. Over the next ten years, German journalist Jutta Rabe would doggedly pursue her theory on the disaster, culminating in this movie.

Baltic Storm has a good premise and a good lead cast, Greta Scacchi as a renamed Rabe, Jurgen Prochnow (Das Boot) as a Swedish survivor of the disaster and Donald Sutherland. The problem is that with these three hired there seemed to be no money left for a decent supporting cast and we're left with several second rate German actors attempting to play Swedes, Estonians, Finns and Russians.

Rabe is a good journalist but she is not the best film producer. There are a number of glaring errors which temper the seriousness of the story and what actually makes the film poignant is the use of contemporary news footage and interviews with some of the key figures at the time.

However this film does still work. Despite the bad acting we do feel sorry for the people who die while the three main leads carry the film well. The story is very good and believeable and the music also works well.

In the end, this is a must see film, especially given that a number of the allegations made in the film have turned out to be true.

At times this was an extremely well acted, well written, perceptive, warm deeply sad story of love, stress, rage, betrayal, and yes the controversial sinking of a large passenger ferry and the death of nearly 900 innocent people...a genuine tragedy...one other tragedy, unsuspected by the film-makers, was their occasional descent into anti-American farce. I teach history, I KNOW many of the terrible things this country has done. None of that excuses turning what seemed to be a superior and significant film into a cartoon. By the end we're in a sort of twisted Fantasyland with Donald Sutherland, no less, as the Black Queen, and America the ultimate evil agent. Honest...I'm not making this up...I was VERY disappointed, if only because I was enjoying the quality of its acting, the honesty of its performances, and the humanity it often showed...until as I say it descended into a cartoonish unreality...even if what it claims to be true, was in fact true, something we'll probably never know, the way it was portrayed was I'm sorry to say, pathetic. There was a lot good in this movie, too much of which was wasted by the end... BY THE WAY, in case you think I'm one of those America is always right types, look up slavery, or Wounded Knee, or the Japanese-American internment, or the Atomic veterans of the 1950's nuclear tests...