Norwegian filmmaker Pål Øie is proudly getting some shelf space in the UK courtesy of Signature Entertainment for his latest dramatic disaster thriller, The Tunnel (a.k.a. Tunnelen). The film released locally back in December and has been making the market rounds with sales to dozens of territories, save for North America TBA, I suppose.
Indeed, The Tunnel was one of the most compelling (and sometimes gutting) films I’ve seen. It grips you in some ways you least expect while making the most out of its actors, using its perilous moments as the inertia it needs, and not as “characters” themselves as other directors may try to, which feels pretentious to a certain degree depending on the film. With Ha, Bae and Oh anchoring this fine dramatic venture, the film is also very much a mark of continued sharpness and career progress from a filmmaker I wish I paid attention to a year sooner. If there is one thing Kim knows how to do at the director’s chair, it is tell great stories that focus on people more than spectacle, and flesh out the best of what they can offer in the moments scenes call for in a film, and The Tunnel, much to his credit, is no exception.