....WARNING YOU HAVE GOT TO WATCH THE END OF THE CREDITS THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE AS SOMETHING HAPPENES AT THE END OF THE CREDITS THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE........

Slight but moving tale that skips melodrama and leaves you idly wondering about its central message.

I was unaware that this was based on a true story until near the end, on finding this out I felt it intensified how brilliant the film was. It is a very dark, bleak style film, very tragic despite its simplicity but I loved it! A must watch !

A great little film with an outstanding performance by the central character. Gently paced for maximum effect

An incredible true story superbly depicted.

his dark and strange docu-drama is about a small fishing boat (a true story) that in 1984 capsizes spilling the crew into near freezing waters.One man survived by swimming to shore which took perhaps 7 hours, far longer than he should have been able to survive.After being found, he goes for testing at a scientific facility before returning home.It is a quiet but heartfelt film and highly recommended.

Inspirational movie while on the Treadmill

A slight step up from an episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive"

A film of two halves; the first gripping and involving, the second wandering and melancholic, and honestly it's a bit of a slog towards the end (though rooted in a true story, The Deep's sudden change in direction is never really successful). The lead performance is fairly bland but the excellent photography is a huge plus.

The Deep (Djúpið) - Icelandic film, co-written and directed by Baltasar Kormákur. Based on 1984 true accounts of the story as told by real 'Guðlaugur Friðþórsson' - who survived six-hours in 5 °C (41 °F) cold water of Atlantic, a miracle. Film was nominated at Nordic Council Film Prize, and was an official entry for 'Best Foreign Language Film' at Academy, but couldn't make it to the final list. Starring Olafur Darri Olafsson in the central role. The Deep is without CGI effects and yet perfectly balances the 'capsize' scene. Film contains Christian religious tone e.g. Church-going, too many prayers to God, and nearness of all inhabitants toward the God. Set in 1984, Gulli (Olafsson) is a fat young man in his 20s - who lives with his parents in Westman Islands in southern coast of Iceland. He accompanies his best friend (married with two kids) and crew on a fish-trawler in freezing weather. They set off for fishing, until their trawler's brand-new fish-net is stuck with boulder in the sea that causes the trawler to capsize in a jiffy. Couple of crew die as a result, the rest swim to the surface. Gulli picks up his best friend and forces him to swim, who's too weak and cold to use his body, and dies immediately. Left alone in the mid sea, Gulli struggles to survive by talking to seagull - some ships pass by but do not notice him in huge waves. He recalls the childhood flashback of lava-eruption in 1974. Gulli reaches the neighboring town, and then picked up by ambulance to the hospital. Gradually he becomes national-hero, some doubt his heroic efforts, since no one could survive in those waters since WW-II (which is also based on rumors). He's called to an experiment in England for having survived the ocean - and stuns the medical-scientists. Film is beautifully made, containing vivid photography of the island, and the nearby town. Good acting and directing. Some viewers might not understand the story but others would enjoy the true event.

Impressive movie from Iceland about impossible survival.

Low key film about an extraordinary tale. It is very subtle without over egging the disaster and the ordeal itself. It is more a personal, self discovery journey rather than a sensationalist or heroic story.

In 1984, a crew of fishermen set off from their small Icelandic island for what should have been another routine few days plying their trade in the North Atlantic Sea. This time however, their boat sinks, killing almost immediately, due to the freezing temperature of the water, every crew member except Gulli (Ólafsson), an overweight schlub. Gulli somehow manages to swim for six hours in the treacherously cold water, reaching his island and walking for another two hours before reaching reaching a house. When a doctor from Reykjavik watches Gulli tell his improbable story on TV, he takes him to a Royal Navy facility in London to conduct tests on how he survived an ordeal nobody else ever had.Following his American debut, 'Contraband', Icelandic director Kormakur returns to his homeland to tell the story of one of that remote country's modern folk-heroes. In Iceland, to this day, the fisherman occupies the sort of mythical status held by the cowboy in America. These guys are held up as supermen, braving some of the world's harshest conditions in order to earn a meager wage. While celebrating this lifestyle, Kormakur also de-mythologizes it. The crew of the trawler Breki are shown as a bunch of poorly educated drunks who would arguably be still alive if they treated their occupation with a bit more professionalism.The film is split in two halves, the first detailing Gulli's ordeal at sea, the second showing his baffling of scientists who fail to come up with an explanation for his unlikely survival. A confused Royal Navy doctor describes Gulli as having "seal fat", a rare moment of humor in this grim Nordic tale. This second half reminded me a little too much of the 'Simpsons' episode where Homer is discovered to be the perfect candidate for an astronaut, defying NASA scientists with his out-of-shape body's tolerance for extreme situations. When Gulli beats three Royal Marines in a freezing water endurance test, you can imagine Icelanders feeling an immense national pride at the fact that one of their out of shape drunks can beat the best the Royal Navy has to offer.Feeling often like a gritty reworking of M Night Shyamalan's 'Unbreakable', 'The Deep' holds your interest but, honestly, it's really just because the actual story is so fascinating rather than any great story-telling on the part of Kormakur. Technically, like most Nordic productions, it's a technically impressive piece of work and very well acted. Over the end credits though, we see archive footage of the real Gulli which only makes you wish you spent the previous 90 minutes watching a documentary version of this story instead.

Absolutely awe - inspiring story. The understated acting and visual settings tell the story of a truly unique man who endures a test of will and body that is unparalleled.

A little to 'factual' rather than exploring more story telling approaches which would have evolved the story on an emotional level.