Movie Review – Skjelvet (The Quake) – the sequel to a movie I greatly enjoyed

When I was looking up the cover for Bølgen (The Wave), I came across a second film, with the same actors staring as the same characters. A sequel.

And so, I took another trip to Prime Video, bought film number 2, and sat down to watch it.

Let me briefly introduce it, and we shall get into the review!

(Read my review of Bølgen (The Wave) HERE. It does provide a little backstory if you haven't watched either film, and don't know what they're about.)

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may get paid or receive a commission if you purchase through my link.

In 1904 an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 on the Richter scale shook Oslo, with an epicenter in the "Oslo Graben" which runs under the Norwegian capital. There are now signs that indicate that we can expect a major future earthquake in Oslo.

My Review

After the disaster that occurred in Geiranger, Kristian Eikjord was labeled a hero. His efforts in the face of danger saved many people's lives, including those of his family. But, the label of 'hero' isn't something that Kristian particularly wants, nor does he truly believe it. He saved people, but what about the 250 people who lost their lives? Could he have done something to save them as well? How could he be called a hero, living when 250 people died?

The aftereffects the Geiranger tsunami took their toll on Kristian. Struggling to keep his sanity after the trauma, Kristian loses his family, when his wife, Idun, takes their two children, Sondre and Julia, and moves to Oslo, leaving him in Geiranger. He pushes them away, preferring them not to see him struggle as he does. But when he sees a news report, telling of the death of one of his colleagues, Kristian finds himself travelling to Oslo, determined to find out what caused the collapse of the Oslofjord Tunnel, killing his colleague.

After going through what he did in Geiranger, it is no surprise that Kristian's mental health was greatly impacted. The survivors guilt crippled him for years, and when the idea pops into his head that his family, in Oslo, are unsafe, that there will be a repeat of the disastrous earthquake from 1904, Kristian will once again stop at nothing to do what he can to save people, especially his family. Unfortunately, many are well aware that Kristian suffered after the tsunami, and when he broaches the subject of his worries with those monitoring the earth's movement in Oslo, they dismiss his concerns. Surely he is simply overthinking things, that he is seeing danger where there is none.

As Kristian slowly finds his family again, trying to fit back in place, the concerns he has draws them away from them once more. There is always a different side to the story – whereas his family see him not being where he said he would, and turning up late at night instead, Kristian sees himself putting them first, investigating the state of Oslo, and the likelihood of another devastating earthquake. In this movie, as in the last, I felt greatly for Kristian. He tries to do everything he can, but he is not in charge, and those who have the power to do something do not believe him.

Bølgen (The Wave) followed all four members of Kristian's family, whereas Skjelvet (The Quake) is focused much more on Kristian. In a way, it isolates the viewer from Idun, Sondre and Julia as Kristian has isolated himself, only giving the viewer the insight into their lives that Kristian has. We only see Sondre at university after he tells Kristian that he goes there. We only see what Julia is up to after Kristian is informed. The viewer is entangled with Kristian's story, and the attention given to him makes the viewer connect with him more so than was possible in Bølgen.

While the earthquake in this film is inevitable, without it there would be no purpose to the film, very little of the actual film is about the earthquake. In Bølgen, a majority of the film was full of the changes that warned of the coming tsunami, and of the actual event, including the intensity of the characters trying to survive. In Skjelvet, however, not much of the film is dedicated to the earthquake, instead focusing on Kristian in the lead-up to it. Without anyone believing him, or taking in his warnings, Kristian even admits it himself – perhaps he is simply seeing disasters where there are none. Maybe he has simply grown over precautious. It is clear how those around him have experienced his intense concerns since the tsunami, by the way even his family, even his children, ignore his warnings and pleas as he tries to keep them safe. His declining mental stability has turned him into the boy who cried wolf, but now it is not merely the small village of Geiranger at stake – it is the city of Oslo, and it will not only be 250 dead, it will be thousands.

Despite this film not showing as much of the disaster as Bølgen did, it is not without drama and action. We follow Kristian as he uses the research of the colleague who died, along with the help of his colleague's daughter, Marit, to uncover the danger lurking, and it is not difficult to start feeling the intense need, alongside Kristian, for someone to simply listen and believe.

Once again, there was a message at the end of this film that the events the occurred will eventually happen again. At some point, there will be a devastating earthquake, and people will lose their lives to it. But no one can know when it will happen. It is a terrifying thing to think about, that people will be going about their normal day, and not know if it might be the day that everything falls to pieces around them.

And done!

I think, personally, I preferred Bølgen to Skjelvet, but Skjelvet was still a very good movie, and I greatly enjoyed watching it.

Again, this movie made me want to learn Norwegian, as did the last one, and I think I may just have to get onto Duolingo and see if I can last longer learning Norwegian than I have learning all the other languages I started!

That's all for now...

Bye!