There are more than 1100 tunnels in Norway. Most of them do not have emergency exits or emergency rooms. Tunnel safety in Norway is based on the principle of individual rescue. It is the individual's own responsibility to get out. Since 2011, there have been 8 major tunnel fires in Norway. Only through a series of coincidences and heroism has everyone survived. These events inspired the following movie.
Released in 2019, the movie Tunnelen starts with the above warning. Since this was very interesting to me, I stopped the movie and did a short research on the road tunnels in Norway. Although the number of tunnels varies, I learned that there are many road tunnels connecting the cities due to the harsh geography and harsh winter conditions. One of them has surpassed other competitors in the world with its length. source
As the title suggests, Tunnelen provides the viewer with a visual perspective on tunnel disasters through a theme in which the tunnel is used as the main location. When a heavy vehicle loaded with gas crashes in the tunnel, there is an explosion and a fire breaks out. One side of the tunnel is blocked by the fire and the other side by the avalanche after the explosion, and the trapped vehicle occupants suddenly find themselves in the middle of a life market.
The movie The Wave, which I watched about a month ago, reflected the negative impact of the big wave created by the fragments of the mountains in Norway on the coastal town and the struggle to survive there.
Although the movie Tunnelen has similarities in terms of disaster and the struggle for life, the disaster here is man-made and affects only the people inside the tunnel, so the capacity is more limited and the rescue attempts are more meaningful.
While watching, you can understand what it feels like to feel trapped. You may think that the sudden heroic efforts to save other lives in moments when someone is fighting for their own life is an exaggeration based on the movie at that moment, but when we look at the disasters that have happened around us, we can see that there are those who have lost their own lives while trying to save others. This fact makes us realize that this is not an exaggeration but a human feeling.
I have repeatedly experienced driving in a short tunnel on the Aydın-İzmir highway. I cannot imagine how much the pressure that starts shortly after entering the tunnel would affect me in longer tunnels. The pressure of feeling more and more enclosed as you progress and the feeling that something is going to happen at any moment makes me sweat even in the winter cold. I can't imagine being trapped in such a tunnel and both ends being closed, and a fire starting in the tunnel would be unbearable on top of all the negativity.
I love movies where people are fighting for their lives and where there is a touch of real life. I think the movie Tunnelen will be worth the time spent if you watch it without great expectations. At least it was worth it for me and accompanied by the natural winter landscapes of Norway, it provided me with extra information about the tunnels there.
I must say that I found the movie successful in terms of showing the procedures that need to be overcome in such disasters in order to prevent further human loss. It was a bit frustrating that the teams outside the tunnel waited for hours without intervening in the fire, waiting for the order to intervene.
We don't know how much time life gives us. Every job we do may be our last job, every meal we eat may be our last meal. The movie makes us think that we should appreciate the time we spend with our loved ones.
@cute-cactus