Some efforts seemed doomed from the beginning. Even before the Russian nuclear missile submarine K-19 left the Soviet naval base at Murmansk in 1961 on its maiden voyage, 10 men had died. At the christening ceremony the champagne bottle didn’t break—a sure sign to sailors of a naval curse. But they had no idea how bad things were going to get or how close their ill-prepared boat would come to starting a world war.

The story of the “Widowmaker,” as its own sailors dubbed this sub, is a chilling one. In the able hands of director Kathryn Bigelow (“Strange Days”) it becomes a thrilling one. As commander-in-chief of this film, Bigelow demonstrates a breadth of vision and an attention to detail that propels her into the upper echelons of the directing world.

The story is based on facts and as it says in the beginning of the film, the story could not be told for 28 years after it happened, because of Soviet pride. But with the fall of communism, the dangerous truth of what occurred on this sub was finally revealed.

The script by Christopher Kyle, a prize-winning playwright, creates a world where the line between coward and hero can shift with the exhalation of one determined breath. Harrison Ford turns in the performance of his lifetime. As Captain Alexei Vostrikov, a man who married into power to escape his families' past, Harrison goes beyond the facial contortions that have marked his recent performances and crossed over into the rarified space of ‘real actor.’

While Ford as Vostrikov appears to be more concerned about protocol of the politburo, Liam Neeson as Captain Mikhail Polenin prefers to see to the safety of his men. The roles as written and directed seem equally matched and these two actors play off each other’s onscreen power very effectively. The major flaw in all performances was the pervasive ebb and flow of Russian accents, which were eventually jettisoned by all hands.

Every detail of this film, from the costumes, designed by Marit Allen (“The Hulk”) and made from era-appropriate fabric to the interior of the submarine, by production designer Karl Juliusson (“Second Sight”) adds an air of authenticity to this film. The music composed by Klau Badelt (“Time Machine”) and played by the famous Kirov Orchestra, adds a decidedly Russian flavor without being clichéd.

“You were lucky this time, Captain. I hope I am on another boat when your luck runs out.” Those words, spoken during a time of high crisis in “K-19: The Widowmaker,” apply not only to the film but to us as a planet. This movie points out how lucky we’ve been to avert total global disaster, not just in times of war, but in times of peace.

Will our luck continue? I hope so. Because there’s no other planetary boat we can ride on that fateful day when somebody permanently screws things up for all of us. It will be a little thing that brings on the end…more likely a series of little things: the cheap fuses that an economically challenged military opt for, bad welds, shorted out communication devices.

What folly is war, what dangers lie in peace? Just ask the families who lost men when two American nuclear subs went down: the USS Thresher in 1963 and the USS Scorpion in 1968. Or the four Russian nuclear submarines that were lost during that same era; including the most recent tragedy of the Kursk, which happened just two years ago. Even K-19 suffered through two more terrible accidents—colliding with a U.S. submarine in 1969 and an interior fire, while submerged, that killed 28 crewmembers.

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images.
luanne@copper-parrot.com