Kursk (2018, France)
Categories: submarine movies political movies
KurskDirector: Thomas Vinterberg
Czas: 117 minut
Laguages: English
Kursk war movie
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Czas: 117 minut
2026-06-08 / 2026-06-08
During the exercise in the Barents Sea, Russian nuclear submarine Kursk is damaged due to an internal explosion. A group of survivors is stuck in the aft part of the hull, all they can do is wait for the rescue.
In 2000, the Russian Northern Fleet prepares for an exercise in the Barents Sea. After years of budget cuts and poor maintenance, the navy is just a shadow of the Cold War era might now. Among the ships taking part in the exercise is an Oscar-class nuclear cruise missile submarine, Kursk. Just before setting to the sea, the crew of Kursk took part in the wedding celebrations of one of the crew members, so the morale was good. Soon after leaving the port, weapons officer Pavel Sonin, reports that the test torpedo prepared to be used in the exercise, is heating up. At first, his reports are ignored as the equipment is just "playing up" and the temperature is still within the safe range. But the situation rapidly changes and soon the torpedo reaches dangerous temperature, but before something can be done about it, an explosion tears the Kursk apart. A group of the sailors retreat to compartment 9, which seems to be the last safe place aboard Kursk right now, but there is one crucial problem - there is no way they could escape. The sub fell to the sea floor and no one could survive swimming towards the surface. All they can do is wait for the navy to rescue them. But the navy does not even know that Kursk is missing.
Submarine movie based upon real events that took place in 2000, when Russian submarine Kursk went down due to an explosion aboard. While the background of the whole operation (the ill-equipped rescue attempts from Russian Navy and refusal to accept the foreign help) are quite accurate, everything that is shown from the perspective of the survivors is a work of fiction, since the only first-hand account of what happened there is just one, short, written in the darkness note that was found on the body of Lieutenant Kolesnikov. The movie itself is basically fine, although the perspective chosen by the creators (to concentrate on the survivors inside) instead of the political aspects that were in the background, was not necessarily a good choice.
Our rating
6.4
Film value
6 / 10
Realism factor
3 / 5
Adventure factor
3 / 5
Historical accuracy
4 / 5
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