Dykkerne (2000) User Reviews

Very Exciting

[asgerlintner · 4 August 2001]

For a danish movie, I have to say, that this is very good movie.

It's in a class of its own, yet it has an international potential.

The movie has a big budget, and is starring famous danish actors, and a few newcomers, who play very well. It can be watched by anyone who like adventures, and a little bit of 'ghost' movie.

Don't be afraid, be thrilled!

Thats the way to do a scary movie!

[Pac Man · 7/10 · 28 April 2005]

Wow! A Danish movie with this kind of content? I mean, the actors, the story, the pictures, the efx - everything was where it should be.

And a Danish EFX house producing those VFX - Wow! This is like the 2nd or 3rd time a Danish FX has produces visual effects in that quality.

*SPOILER AHEAD* The twist with the ghostly children in the submarine was quite good, but generally I did not feel the big chill which I would expect from a ghost-movie. *END OF SPOILER*

But anyway, this is a Danish movie which I as a Dane can be proud of.

The only "bad" about this, is that it wasn't a Danish director, but a Swedish...

A summer's tale of mystery and adventure...

[medusas_sister · 8/10 · 18 October 2001]

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***

This movie, "The Divers", is really interesting. All I roughly knew about it was that it would involve nazi history, underwater scenes and everybody would be speaking Danish. But I decided to check it out for one reason, the fact that the story evolves around a sunken WWII German submarine. I've got a fetish for German subs, especially wrecks that can be dived upon. So I was a bit sceptical about the Danish part, but reasoned that the sub could weigh up that part. Knowing that Nordic films aren't always that good and not sure of the budget size I was, to say the least, very sceptical.

Upon viewing I was ... surprised.

I had some thoughts on the actors being inadequate, seeing how some are very young, the two main actors in particular. This was not an issue, they both perform very well. As do the other actors, who mostly consist of people in their 50's and beyond. This makes for some interesting interaction between young and old, not often seen on the screen. Not unique in anyway, but somewhat rare. And it's all good.

As for the Danish language, it is nearly impossible to understand. But this was no problem, it had subtitles.

Another issue was the submarine itself, I suspected there would be interior shots as well as underwater exterior shots of the submarine. Having decided their budget was slim, I thought this could turn out adequate at the best and down right awful at it's worst. Again I was surprised, the exterior scenes of the wreck are beautiful and the interior scenes are very realistic. Having a fetish for German subs, I knew what the sub should look like, especially inside, and was not let down. The team has done some serious research. It's all good.

I suspect more people than myself will watch this movie just to see some sub wreck scenes so I feel I must issue a "warning". The submarine in the movie is not an actual model that existed during the war. It's a special purpose sub. But to give you a hint of what to expect, it's a crossing between a Type VII, Type IX and a Japanese transport sub similar to I-52. It's god a good design and makes a nice wreck.

The setting is on a Danish island or peninsula, I can't remember. It's summertime and two brothers travel to their grandfather to celebrate the coming of summer as they do every year. Their grandfather is a mariner of sorts. The cinematography is quite nice, a lot of pretty summer scenes at the island docks, some newfound teenage love, nice diving weather and a general feeling of "perfect". Once again, it's all good.

Plot-wise the island gets some visitors of the suspect kind, a gathering of men hire one of the boats, an old minesweeper and it's crew. One of the visitors, a man in his 50's, has the german eagle and swastika tattooed on his back. The island's senior citizens all remember when a german u-boat was sunk towards the end of world war II and ever since then there have been rumors of nazi gold in the depths. The grandfather was one of the young men who searched for the sunken u-boat shortly after german bodies started floating ashore back in 1945. No submarine was ever found.



WHAT TO EXPECT

Key elements are nazi experiments, nazi history, treasure hunting, secrecy, competition, teen love, conspiracy, and ...a surprise.

*** WARNING - SPOILER ***

I had not expected some elements of the supernatural to appear in this movie and it caught me off guard. Not being a big fan of supernatural events, it nevertheless fitted well into the story and poses no problem. It's not like "From dusk til dawn" where everybody turns into vampires towards the end. This is a bit more subtle.

OVERALL : Really good movie, I gave it an 8. Some due to the fact that it isn't a Hollywood movie with unlimited resources. I later learned that it had a fair budget and that some of the actors were seasoned Danish veterans. But even if this had been a Hollywood production, I would give it a 7 or 8. Definately worth your while. Yes, a child's story in a way, but then again a mature tale. It has a lot of suspense and a grand aura of adventure, which I found very appealing. And, again, the cinematography is really nice.

/Medusa 2001

Surprisingly exciting

[claves · 8/10 · 25 October 2000]

I went to see this movie expecting a nice relaxing time in the theater with my younger sister. Instead, I had to really control myself in order to convince her that I was not scared. In many ways still a children´s story, but with a screenplay that has a lot of potential. Could have been one of the scariest movies if planned for another audience.

Beyond, a nice try

[mp.visser · 8 January 2003]

I just saw this movie, basically because we wanted to see a European film, so we rented this one.

**Spoilers**

The movie starts out okay, but the script is not developed all that well. It is nicely filmed, and the acting is not bad, but the story is not all that well developed, it had a lot more potential. Who was that Guy with the Tattoo, why is he injecting all the time, and what? who is the British businessman? Why does the shortwave radio work under water? What is that Buoy they fish out of the water? Maybe the subtitles where bad, but this movie could have used an half hour extra in story line (and some more sex, the girl was really hot) Like I said, the main storyline is not all that bad, but it has more potential. I give it 7 out of 10, and that includes bonus points for being low budget and European.

I liked the scenery, I have sailed where the story is supposed to be (I think the water was clearer there) and the décor of the U-Boot is really well done. I am basically surprised that you can make a movie that looks this well for this money.