Submergence
2018 · Directed by Wim Wenders
Original language: English
- drama
- thriller
- romance
The story
While James More is held captive by terrorists in Somalia, thousands of miles away on the Greenland Sea, his lover Danny Flinders prepares to dive herself in a submersible into the deep bottom of the ocean, tormented by the memories of their brief encounter in France and her inability to know his whereabouts.
What it’s like
Wide, washed-out landscapes alternate with cramped, dim interiors, so the film moves between sun-bleached French coastline, dusty Somali scrub and the cold, featureless blue of the sea. Wenders favours long, unhurried shots that let light drift across faces and water, and the hotel rooms of the French flashbacks glow with soft warm light that contrasts with the grey fluorescence of the submersible's hull and the pale, bare cells of captivity. The score is sparse and melancholy, with long stretches of ambient silence broken by distant engine hum and the rush of water. The vibe is aching, restless and quietly sensual, the pull of a remembered love while two lovers are cut off from each other. Pacing is slow and meditative, with dreamlike memory fragments folding into present-tense isolation. Its emotional register is tender and mournful, centred on two people trying to hold on to each other across distance and danger. Intensity is moderate: there are captivity scenes with threat and some brief, non-graphic violence, and a few sexual moments, but no gore, and dread builds more than it erupts. Suited to a late-night, slow-paced watch, for viewers who want romance with a thriller undertow and a contemplative, atmospheric mood.
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