As a co-creator of the influential Dogme 95 movement, Thomas Vinterberg has always favored simplicity in the making of his films, and that includes their titles. The director of The Hunt, The Celebration, Far From the Madding Crowd, and The Commune debuted his latest work, submarine drama Kursk, at last year’s TIFF and even released a trailer. But something about it wasn’t clicking, and so the movie’s undergone a name change, one that sounds more Vinterberg-like: The Command.
Yeah, that’s pretty dull, too. Hopefully, the film is as exciting as the cast, which includes Matthias Schoenaerts, Lea Seydoux, Colin Firth, and Max von Sydow. The story centers on the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster which saw 118 Russian sailors killed. Here’s the synopsis:
It is the first major Russian Navy exercise since the end of the Soviet Union, but the K-141 Kursk is deemed unsinkable and its crew recognized as the best in the Northern Fleet. Among the crew is Captain-Lieutenant Mikhail Kalekov (Schoenaerts), a devoted naval officer with a loving wife (Seydoux), and child, and another on the way. He and his crew board the Kursk and descend into the Barents Sea with a sense of optimism and fraternity.
I’m not sure the title change is much of an improvement, but Vinterberg is a reliable director who consistently make challenging dramas. I expect The Command will be no different. The film hits DirecTV exclusively on May 23rd, followed by theaters and digital on June 21st.
