Pioneer (2013)

A thriller set at the beginning of the 1980's Norwegian Oil Boom and centered on a diver whose obsession with reaching the bottom of the Norwegian Sea leads to tragedy.

Director:

Erik Skjoldbjærg

Writers:

Nikolaj Frobenius, Hans Gunnarsson

Stars:

Aksel Hennie, Wes Bentley, Stephen Lang

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aksel Hennie	...	Petter
Wes Bentley	...	Mike
Stephen Lang	...	John Ferris
Stephanie Sigman	...	Maria Salatzar
Jonathan LaPaglia	...	Ronald
Ane Dahl Torp	...	Pia
Jørgen Langhelle	...	Leif
André Eriksen	...	Knut Jensen
David A. Jørgensen	...	Jørgen Heimland
Eirik Stubø	...	Ivar Jeger
Endre Hellestveit	...	Trond
Laurents Rørvik	...	Martin
Janne Heltberg	...	Trude Svendsen
Jerker Fahlström	...	Jørgens far
Tyrone C. Wiggins	...	Vakt (as Tyrone Wiggins)

Storyline

This conspiracy thriller is set in the early 80's, the beginning of the Norwegian Oil Boom. Enormous oil and gas deposits are discovered in the North Sea and the authorities aim to bring the oil ashore through a pipeline from depths of 500 meters. A professional diver, Petter, obsessed with reaching the bottom of the Norwegian Sea has the discipline, strength and courage to take on the world's most dangerous mission. But a sudden, tragic accident changes everything. Petter is sent on a perilous journey where he loses sight of who's pulling the strings. Gradually he realizes that he is in way over his head and that his life is at stake.

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Plot Keywords:

1980s | downward spiral | underwater scene | boat explosion | bare buttocks | 

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Taglines:

When your ultimate adventure becomes your ultimate nightmare

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The accident, where Aksel Hennie rolls his Jeep isn't staged, but a real not planned rollover without a stunt man. Hennie was to drive off the road, and make a Sharp turn, but the Jeep wasn't able to perform such a turn at that speed, without rolling over.

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Goofs

(at around 35 mins) Petter opens a bag containing bundles of U.S. dollar bills. All denominations shown are clearly the currency designs that began circulation in the late 1990's. The movie is set in 1979.

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Connections

Remade as Pioneer

User Reviews

Anything but gripping

Saw this advertised on Sky Movies. The movie poster had an Abyss feel to it, which I guess did the job of getting my interest.

The info then described this as a gripping 80's thriller. Believe me, unless your idea of gripping is people sitting around in decompression chambers, jittery flashbacks announced with annoying sound effects and far too much coverage given to the lead guy's fur lined jacket, this couldn't be further from the truth.

I watched this for about 50 minutes before the boredom became more crushing than the pressure at the bottom of the Marianas trench.

The Wave wasn't bad but after this and the appalling The Last King, I think I'm gonna have to give these Norwegians films a bit of a miss.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Norway Germany Sweden France Finland

Language:

Norwegian English

Release Date:

5 December 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pioneer

Box Office

Budget:

EUR5,555,559 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,857, 7 December 2014

Gross USA:

$6,871

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,656,152

Company Credits

Production Co:

Friland, Pandora Filmproduktion, Garagefilm International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1