Based on The Swarm by Frank Schätzing
Written by Frank Schätzing, Steven Lally, Marissa Lestrade, Michael A. Walker, Chris Lunt
Screenplay by Steven Lally, Marissa Lestrade, Chris Lunt, Michael A. Walker
Directed by Barbara Eder, Luke Watson, Philipp Stölzl
Starring
Cécile de France as Dr. Cécile Roche
Alexander Karim as Dr. Sigur Johanson
Leonie Benesch as Charlie Wagner
Joshua Odjick as Leon Anawak
Takuya Kimura as Aito Mifune[1]
Krista Kosonen as Tina Lund
Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Alicia Delaware
Barbara Sukowa as Prof. Katharina Lehmann
Kim Mousa as Mesuli
Oliver Masucci as Captain Jasper Alban
Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Samantha Crowe
Claudia Jurt as Dr. Natalia Oliviera
Kari Corbett as Iona
Jack Greenlees as Douglas MacKinnon
Lydia Wilson as Sara Thompson
Takehiro Hira as Riku Sato
Klaas Heufer-Umlauf as Luther Roscovitz
Eidin Jalali as Rahim Amir
Franziska Weisz as Sophia Granelli
Andrea Guo as Jess
David Vormweg as Tomas
Dutch Johnson as Jack Greywolf O’Bannon
Music by Dascha Dauenhauer
Country of origin Germany
Original languages English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish, Japanese
Cinematography David Luther, Dominik Berg
Editors Philipp Ostermann, Sandy Saffeels
Production company Schwarm TV Production
Executive producers Frank Doelger, Eric Welbers, Mark Huffam, Ute Leonhardt, Jan Wünschmann, Till Grönemeyer, Barbara Eder, Luke Watson, Moritz von Kruedener. Jan Theys
The English translation of Frank Schätzing’s The Swarm arrived in the United States in 2006, and became an immediate cult SF classic. Brilliantly translated by Sally-Ann Spencer, the 888-page tome quickly builds suspense and a sense of creeping dread. Whales and other marine animals have suddenly began attacking ocean vessels, a strange, deadly pathogen is turning up in shell fish, and undersea avalanches resulting in tsunamis and methane gas eruptions capable of sinking large ships are occurring. The world’s top oceanographers and marine biologists start determining what is going on, and once they realize an undersea consciousness is behind all this, what to do about it.
The science is meticulous and detailed, the pacing about as close to perfect as you can get, and the characters are profoundly real and engaging. The politics that inform and impede human response to the situation ring very true.
The detail and complexity of the book, along with the special effects required, put it out of the reach of movie makers for a decade or more. But the rise of high-budget miniseries and German willingness to take a risk in making a show of Schätzing’s beloved book finally did bring about the television version of The Swarm just this year.
While it doesn’t start with the dire anticipation and suspense of the book, it does build to that in its own sweet time, building and back-loading the mystery and drama. While the science is less detailed than it was in the book (book readers read Cryptonomicon; movie goers watch Star Wars. Numbers confuse them) it is accurate, and even updated to reflect the current state of knowledge. The multinational cast are believable and engaging. This does result in a polyglot effort which means 99% of viewers will want to use the subtitles. The special effects are startlingly good.
The ending is a bit abrupt, and book readers will realize there is much more to come. A second season is in the works. As a stand-alone story, this season by itself works quite well.
Like the book, it is cerebral and both informed and informative. Most kids might tune out because it doesn’t feature a lot of the ‘idiots, anvils and explosives’ that too much science fiction video entails, but for imaginative and intelligent teens and adults, it’s a must-watch.