‘The Wave’ Trailer is a Total Disaster (But in a Good Way)

If you thought Roland Emmerich had exclusive rights to natural disaster movies, think again. And it’s not just Hollywood either. Coming soon to North America is a brand new movie about an angry Mother Nature wreaking havoc, this time in Norway. Let’s talk about ‘The Wave’.

A small fishing village is the setting for this thriller, where a series of real life, massive rockslides over the past hundred years or so have triggered tsunamis to sweep in and cause devastation. Nearly 200 people have lost their lives in these events. With the natural rock formations of the fjords, the water channels quickly and rises fast. The film posits that it’s not a matter of if there will be another rockslide, it’s just a matter of when. The village is a real place called Geiranger that has a population of around 250 people but is famous for it’s scenic beauty and tourism. In the film, a geologist named Kristian discovers some sketchy activity in the rocks along one mountain and warns people that the next rockslide will be soon and that they will have only 10 minutes to evacuate the town before the wave strikes. There’s some skepticism of course, but this being a natural disaster movie, you can be sure it isn’t long before that wave gets triggered.

Already a huge hit in its home country, The Wave features actors performing their own stunts and special effects that rival the big blockbusters. The smaller scale gives this story a much more personal feel, giving weight to the townspeople. The large scale city destruction of other major natural disaster movies become more about demolition than disaster, stripping away the humanity of it, so perhaps with something more localized, it will have greater effect. Certainly, the film will deal with the aftermath (and possible larger aftershocks?) in keeping with the tropes the movie is clearly influenced by, so let’s see if the film can do something interesting with what we’ve seen many times before.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIr90-aG26Y?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=920&h=415]

The Wave releases in North America on March 4, 2016.