Stormforce (2006) Windkracht 10: Koksijde Rescue (original title)

Director:

Hans Herbots

Writer:

Pierre De Clercq

Release Date:

11 October 2006 (Belgium)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

After an over-cocky inter-forces 'anti-terrorism' game in which he damaged the minister's car, Belgian...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Shower | Ship Fire | Male Rear Nudity | Hazing

Cast

Kevin Janssens	...	Rick Symons
Axel Daeseleire	...	Koen
Koen De Bouw	...	Mark Van Houte
Stan Van Samang	...	Serge Helsen
Ludo Busschots	...	Patrick Adams
Jelle Cleymans	...	Bert Gorissen
Warre Borgmans	...	Jean Louis Hubert De Jonghe
Vic de Wachter	...	Bob Govaerts
François Beukelaers	...	Generaal Cassiman
Mark van den Bos	...	Generaal Landmacht
Jean-Michel Flagothier	...	Admiraal
Eric Godon	...	Defence minister
Frank Mercelis	...	Kabinetschef
Alexander Provoost	...	Jonge Korporaal
Michel Bauwens	...	Backjacker
Gert Winckelmans	...	Thys
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Veerle Baetens	...	Alex Breynaert
Peter Bastiaensen	...	Pilot
David Cheung	...	Tigris Sailor
Jaela Cole	...	Yvonne
Hyppolyte Eloy	...	Benoit
Nicolas Gob	...	Tigris Sailor
Tine Reymer	...	Marleen
Lotte Verlackt	...	Stef van Looy
Bruce Wang	...	Tigris Captain

Directed by
Hans Herbots

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Pierre De Clercq

Produced by
Peter Bouckaert	....	associate producer
Ludo Busschots	....	co-producer
Guido De Keyser	....	associate producer
Hilde De Laere	....	producer
Terry Glinwood	....	co-producer
Petra Goedings	....	co-producer
Erwin Provoost	....	producer
Denis Wigman	....	executive producer
Stef Wouters	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Matt Dunkley

Cinematography by
Danny Elsen

Film Editing by
Philippe Ravoet

Casting by
Gunter Schmid
Matt Western

Art Direction by
Kurt Loyens

Set Decoration by
Jimmy Van Meel

Costume Design by
Tine Verbeurgt

Production Management
Guy De Lombaert	....	unit production manager
Griet Meukens	....	post-production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joke Pevenage	....	second assistant director
Eddy Stevesyns	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Stefaan Lejon	....	builder
Merijn Sep	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Victor Dekker	....	additional sound
Peter Flamman	....	sound designer
Simone Galavazi	....	sound
Alex Hudd	....	sound consultant: dolby
Michaël Sauvage	....	sound editor (as Michael Sauvage)
Philippe van Leer	....	foley artist
Wart Wamsteker	....	sound designer
Arno Willemstein	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Olivier de Laveleye	....	special effects
Alexander Gunn	....	special effects senior technician
David Payne	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Dave Bannister	....	digital compositor
Paul Birkett	....	rotoscope artist
Mark Buschbacher	....	recording technician: Cinesite
Lee Chidwick	....	visual effects coordinator
Grant Connor	....	digital effects artist
Bert Deruyck	....	digital compositor
Kristof Indeherberge	....	digital compositor
Kris Janssens	....	visual effects
Lorraine Johnson	....	scanning supervisor: Cinesite
Simon Johnson	....	scanning operator: Cinesite
Kirsty Lawlor	....	digital compositor
Christopher Learmonth	....	visual effects editor
Adrian Lee	....	data operative/render wrangler
Jan Meade	....	projectionist: Cinesite
Mitch Mitchell	....	head of imaging: Cinesite
Venetia Penna	....	scanning operator: Cinesite
Raf Schoenmaekers	....	visual effects
Pieter Swusten	....	digital artist
Annabelle Troukens	....	visual effects producer

Camera and Electrical Department
Marie Celette	....	additional second assistant camera
Björn Charpentier	....	assistant camera
Julien Covens	....	grip
Adam Dale	....	aerial director of photography
Gaetan De Poorter	....	video assist operator
Nyk Dekeyser	....	still photographer
Jan Dellaert	....	camera operator: second unit
Wouter Dewilde	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Graham Johnston	....	additional focus puller
Nigel Permane	....	director of photography: model unit
Roel Tanghe	....	electrician
Wim Temmerman	....	gaffer
Mike Valentine	....	underwater camera operator
Gideon van Essen	....	best boy
Jo Vermaercke	....	Steadicam operator
Bob Wouters	....	electrician

Animation Department
Wouter De Winter	....	digital artist

Casting Department
Jakob Verbruggen	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Peter Bernaers	....	colorist
Arnout Deurinck	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Charles Godin	....	assistant editor
Koen Maenhout	....	telecine operator

Music Department
Matt Dunkley	....	conductor

Other crew
Marijn de Vries	....	co-production coordinator
Jo van Hende	....	location manager
Koen Maenhout	....	scanning technician
Richey Rynkowski	....	midi transcriptor
Andy Stephens	....	aerial operations manager: Flying Pictures Ltd.
Françoise Valentine	....	underwater coordinator
Elly Verduyckt	....	continuity
Barney Wrightson	....	aerial operations assistant: Flying Pictures Ltd.

Production Companies

• MMG Film & TV Production
• Phanta Vision Film International B.V. (co-produced)

Distributors

• RCV Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• America Video Film (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• DD Dream (2008) (China) (DVD)
• Jiant Pictures/MK Network (2008) (Taiwan) (DVD)
• MTI Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Mti Home Video
• RCV Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Flying Pictures  aerial filming services provided by

Also Known As:

"Windkracht 10: Koksijde Rescue" - Belgium (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Runtime:

Germany:117 min (European Film Market)

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Dutch

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | USA:R

Company:

MMG Film & TV Production

Trivia:

Opened in The Netherlands on 18 January 2007, the same day the heaviest storm in years struck the country, paralyzing all of the railroads and killing five people.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the movie, when "Rick" is in the Army, he is a 1st sergeant (4 stripes). From the moment he arrives in Koksijde, he is an Airforce sergeant (3 stripes). (However, due to his exercise foul up, it's possible he may have been demoted as part of his transfer to the Air Component.)

Movie Connections:

Follows "Windkracht 10" (1997)

Top Gun-style coast guard movie has a heart

Rick Symons (a handsome Kevin Janssens) is a maverick diver in the Belgian navy. His actions embarrass his superiors and he is reassigned to the 40th division of the air force. In Belgium, the coast guard is a part of the army. His new job is to rescue people lost at sea, while being towed down from a helicopter.

At the coast guard, he has to team up with a young nurse, Alex (Veerle Baetend, with a girl-next-door type of charm). Alex had to fight for her position in this masculine world. There is also Marleen (Tine Reymer) and her wheel-chaired husband Koen (Axel Daeseleire). Rick knows them from the past, but how are they connected?

When you are at sea, rescuing people under hazardous conditions, your life depends on the men and women you work with. Alex hears that Rick can't be trusted and brings his co-workers in danger. Alex has to decide if she wants to be in the same team with him.

This is the beginning of a story that alternates between high thrills action and human emotional drama: On one side, there is grand action adventure in the air and at sea, On the other, is the drama of complex relations between friends and colleagues. On both aspects, this movie really delivers. The rescue actions are quite spectacular and thrilling. The human side of the story is brought convincingly and feels real.

I felt a lump in my throat quite a couple of times. It was not hard to identify with the characters on the screen. The picture is very efficient in introducing the characters. Without many words being spoken, you get to know who these people are and you feel a connection with them almost immediately. Well, at least I did.

This movie is drawn on the same template as 1986's Top Gun. It features an exciting part of the army, with brave and charming protagonists. Like Top Gun, this movie sometimes feels like a long job recruitment commercial, in this case for the coast guard. Who wouldn't want to be working with these people who do such dangerous but admirable work? Although filmed apparently with a much lower budget than its US air force example (the equivalent of USD 5 million), this picture easily matches the quality of photography and the delivery of exciting action.

I think this movie succeeds even better on the human side of the story. Although the elements of the story are nothing that we have not seen before elsewhere, the portrayals of the main characters are convincing enough and carry depth. This side of the movie made more impact on me during one theater visit than Top Gun did during 7 or 8 viewings.

The movie is beautifully shot in Cinemascope. Unfortunately the filmmakers seemed to be fond of their digital toolbox and gave many scenes a yellow glow. At times this felt a bit overdone. The scoring by Matt Dunkley (who I didn't know) is quite adequate and never becomes noticeable, which usually is a good sign.

I have not seen the original TV-series "Windkracht 10" (translates to "Wind Force 10"), on which this movie is based. I have also not yet seen the 2006 US coast guard drama "The Guardian", which touches on the same line of work. So I have no direct comparison. I liked this one, though.

I recommend this movie to anybody who likes adventure stories mixed with human drama. Just don't expect an original and unpredictable story.

I rate this movie 8 out of 10, so quite high, because it really struck a chord with me. I can't go any higher, because of the "job commercial", glamorizing aspects and lack of originality in the script. So my verdict: 8/10.

Release / language trivia: The spoken language is Dutch, or rather the Belgian dialect also called Flemish. (Of course, the usual air force jargon is spoken, which is mostly English). In neighboring country The Netherlands, where Dutch is the national language, the movie is shown in theaters with Dutch subtitles. I must say, that this makes the dialog easier to follow.

Marketing trivia: This (for local production standards) big budget movie has been released in a very limited way in the Netherlands. This, in spite of its potential appeal to a wide audience. There has not been much promotion. I saw this movie in its first week on a Monday night with no more than 10 people at the only screening of the day.

International release expectations: Although the film does not seem to aim at the Anglosaxon world, it should do well in other international markets. Especially in regions with sea coasts, this should be a recognizable story. Audiences that are used to seeing their movies dubbed or subtitled anyways, would enjoy the high production values and universal themes. Also, the humor is mostly physical (no word jokes) and there is no frontal nudity or extreme violence.