''The Icebreaker'' () is a 2016 Russian

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as ...

directed by

Nikolay Khomeriki Nikolay Khomeriki (born 17 April 1975) is a Russian film director and screenwriter. He has directed six films since 2004. His film '' 977'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Three years later his f ...

. The plot of the film is based in part on the real events that occurred in 1985 with the

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

, which was trapped by Antarctic ice and spent 133 days in forced drift. The film premiered in Russia on October 20, 2016.

Plot

In the Spring of 1985. The icebreaker "Mikhail Somov" is off the coast of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. While navigating, the ship heads towards an

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...

and Captain Petrov starts to take measures to avoid it. The captain's efforts are hindered when a passenger and dog fall overboard. Because of the rescue operation, the ship fails to avoid the iceberg and sustains damage. The First Officer, who has shown antipathy towards the Captain due to his perception that the Captain runs a lax ship radios the undefined “Ministry” in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, to which the Ministry issues orders removing the captain. A new captain Valentin Sevchenko, a man of uncompromising and domineering power, is sent to the ship by helicopter. He immediately enters into a confrontation with Andrei Petrov, accusing the latter of disorder and as a consequence of the misfortune that has occurred. Under the control of Sevchenko, the icebreaker rises in the ice. His actions to the extreme heat up the already heavy atmosphere on the ship: the sailors are starting to give up nerves, which provokes conflict within the team. In anticipation of rescue, the crew of the ship spends 133 days among the ice.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in severe weather conditions in

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

and in the mountains of the

Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...

- Khibiny for 3.5 months. The 1957 nuclear icebreaker

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

was used, which has now been taken out of service 1989 and parked permanently in

Box office

During the opening weekend, the film led the Russian rental market, bypassing the American action movie '' Jack Reacher: Never Go Back'' with

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

in the title role and collecting 127.3 million rubles (129). However, even so, the film at the box office collected less than 3/5 of the amount spent on it.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Icebreaker, The (film) 2016 films 2010s Russian-language films 2010s disaster films 2016 action drama films Films directed by Nikolay Khomeriki Russian disaster films Russian action drama films Russian adventure thriller films Films set in Antarctica Disaster films based on actual events Films scored by Tuomas Kantelinen