SYNOPSIS:
In August 2000, during a military exercise, the invincible
Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sank with its 118 crew members
in the Barents Sea. The tragedy has never been completely
elucidated. This astonishing documentary takes a look at the
sinking of the Kursk, an accident that was attributed to an
accidental explosion caused by a faulty torpedo. Immediately
after the accident, Russian naval officers attributed the
sinking to a torpedo strike from a U.S. Navy sub. This film
throws new light on the affair, disclosing facts until now
carefully concealed. The basis of the film is that the admirals
were right all along: American subs were shadowing the Kursk
during its Barents Sea exercises; they first rammed and then
torpedoed it. It also observes President Putin's calculated
and sensational seizure of power.
MOVIE
REVIEW
If
there is one thing documentaries do best, they save us the
trouble of reading textbooks and newspapers. Heck, the visual
information may even make us the highlight of conversations
at parties and social gatherings.
To be
frank, we had not much knowledge about the Russian submarine
Kursk which sunk during a military exercise in August 2000
and resulted in the tragic deaths of its 118 crew members
on board. This 75-minute documentary sheds light on what happened
on that faithful day, and the aftermath of this unfortunate
incident.
The award-winning
French documentary directed by Jean-Michel Carre and narrated
by American actor Peter Coyote tracks down how Kursk was launched
for the exercise to its sinking, and the political implications
that follow. With the aid of archive footage and graphic re-enactments,
viewers will be guided clearly along what exactly happened,
to the eventual conspiracy theory the documentary proposes.
Like most
documentaries, this one will lead you to take in the information
as they are presented to you, especially with Coyote’s
firm and weighty voiceover narration.
The documentary
will first have you believe that the Russians (yes, they were
a communist country during its USSR days before 1991) have
attributed the accident to a torpedo strike from an American
Navy sub, in all efforts to cover up for their own negligence
and ineptness. Then, with further evidence and interview footages,
the documentary throws another light on this incident, coming
to a conclusion that the Americans were really up to no good
with their Navy Sub.
To make
the documentary even more important and shocking, scenes of
Russian president Vladmir Putin and ex-president Bill Clinton
are shown before your eyes, and will have you believe that
the world was almost on the brink of a terrible World War
III, which was prevented just in time.
If you
have some previous knowledge about the Kursk incident, this
documentary will engage you. Facts and evidence are presented
in an organized manner, with a looming sense of danger and
menace throughout.
For
the more cynical, resourceful and inquisitive viewers, this
may make you want to find out more about the incident and
make a stand for yourself. Of course, this would be the ideal
situation as we should all know better than to absorb everything
that is given to us by this medium called the mass media.
For the others who are not fans of this genre, it may be a
tad difficult to follow the presentation, despite its short
run time. But if you are willing to put some effort into following
the pace of the documentary, it may make you a more knowledgeable
person, if not a more intellectual-sounding conversation-starter
at parties and social gatherings.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The documentary is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0
and 4 x 3 Letterbox format. While the audio aspects of the
disc is fine, we cannot say so much about the visual transfer
as it is not exactly crystal clear as you’d expect it
to be.
SPECIAL FEATURES
No extra features are included in this Code 3 DVD.
MOVIE
RATING:
OVERALL
DVD RATING :
Review
by John Li
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