Pioneer

In the beginning, I felt like watching a retro movie from the 1970s. With hairy and bearded sailors. The filters they used remind me of the old James Bond movie ones and water, surrounding one oil rig, is everywhere. Well, a lot of conspiracy theories reflect into one quite important milestone of the movie, but they were not necessary, and I didn’t like them much. I expected far more from it. Seen based on Challenge Tour 2015. (04/20/2015)

Erik Skjoldbjærg is brilliant wherever he can use his ability to accurately describe a plot procedure and capture the atmosphere of the environment. The first twenty minutes are therefore almost captivating, and although they differ through a somewhat more conservative approach to the great NOKAS docu-thriller, Pioneer has at least the same drive. But then comes the intricate conspiracy and perspective of the main character with disturbed perception (memory of Insomnia) and here in Pioneer, a solid subjective plane (delusions, paranoia) conflicts with a conspiracy thriller that suffers from rather clumsy dosing of information and sometimes a bit of halting directing (the scene with the car in the tunnel is very sketchy). The ambition here is quite high - a moral critique of the "Norwegian economic miracle", which, from the point of view of the film, is based on the violation of fundamental human rights. The result? Disconcerted. But as a lover of underwater sequences, I necessarily have to give an extra star. Cameron must have liked this, too. (01/15/2015)

I must admit that the scenes underwater or beneath the surface of the psyche are truly powerful, and the whole film has a depressive effect on the viewer. Unfortunately, that's more or less all I got from the movie. It couldn't draw me in, as if it intentionally kept its distance from me. Nevertheless, the environment is brilliantly captured. (07/10/2015)

I was a bit surprised that the retro drama Pioneer didn't actually spend much time with action under the sea, yet I don't feel disappointed that I watched this movie. This is a Norwegian story about corruption, based on true events, which basically shows how greedy the human race is and what big corporations and individuals are capable of to gain economic power over others. At first I couldn't recognize the bearded Axel Hennie at all, but gradually he revealed himself with his eyes, body language and inimitable acting. (75%) (04/10/2022)