Baltic Storm (2003)

A journalist from Berlin, Germany, and a Swedish lawyer discover the truth behind the sinking of the "MS Estonia" in 1994, where more than 850 people drowned.

Director:

Reuben Leder

Writers:

Reuben Leder, Jutta Rabe (story),

Stars:

Greta Scacchi, Jürgen Prochnow, Donald Sutherland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greta Scacchi	...	Julia Reuter
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Erik Westermark
Donald Sutherland	...	Lou Aldryn
Dieter Laser	...	Gehrig
Jürgen Schornagel	...	Jan Peters
Barbara Schöne	...	Ingrid Peters
Rein Oja	...	Captain Arvo Kallas
Herb Andress	...	Juri Roos
Birgit Stein	...	Tiina Ronk
Thure Riefenstein	...	Mika Galt
Francis Fulton-Smith	...	Markus Dackel (as Francis Fulton Smith)
Jürgen Tarrach	...	Gregor Karpatitsch
Andreas Günther	...	Rock Weber (as Andreas Guenther)
Patrizia Moresco	...	Elke Groat
Michael Schreiner	...	Dr. Sergei Raspoff

Storyline

During the night of 27th to 28th September 1994, the Swedish-Estonian ferry ESTONIA sank in the middle of the Baltic Sea. 852 people lost their lives, only 145 were saved. Until today this has remained the biggest shipping catastrophe in European waters since the end of World War II. JULIA REUTER, a journalist with a leading German television magazine in Berlin, is trying to get a scoop on military black market arms trafficking from Russia. Her investigations lead her to Tallinn in Estonia, where on the evening of September 27, 1994 she misses the ferry ESTONIA, by mere minutes. One of the vehicles on the ship is a truck loaded with high-tech weapons. ERIK WESTERMARK is a Swedish lawyer, who is coming from a sailing trip along the Estonian coast with his 10-year-old son. They were setting off for the return trip back home to Sweden, aboard the ESTONIA. But the ferry doesn't make her port of call. She sinks in the midst of the cold Baltic Sea. Erik Westermark is among the rescued. The ...

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Plot Keywords:

ferry | baltic sea | pentagon | disaster | split screen | 

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Taglines:

From beyond a watery grave, a story of secrets and lies.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2003 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Balti vihar

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Top Story Filmproduktion GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 110 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Fishguard-Rosslare ferry was used during filming.

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Goofs

The blades of the helicopter behind Lou Aldryn move again despite having stopped completely only seconds before.

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Connections

Features Tagesschau (1952)

User Reviews

Very poignant and relevant exploration of a real life tragedy

In 1994, the passenger ferry "Estonia" sank in the waters of the North Sea on a journey from Tallin, Estonia to Stockholm, Sweden. The disaster was quickly ruled to be the result of natural causes. However, a German journalist spent the next ten years investigating the tragedy, and came up with evidence that the ship was carrying arms and contraband from the remains of the former USSR to the black market in Stockholm. The movie chronicles this reporter's quest for the truth. Greta Scacchi brings heart and guts to her performance as the journalist, and Jurgen Prochnow delivers a poignant portrayal of a survivor of the tragedy united with the reporter as they search for answers. Donald Sutherland plays a mysterious puppeteer who perhaps has all the answers. The film is tense, emotional, beautifully shot -- a gripping political thriller.