Nr. 24

I locked in expecting nothing but a notorious rebel fighter, opposing the Nazi regime with mysterious characteristics of his internal battles after being confronted with difficult moral choices.

As with anyone, one may not show their discomfort with others if they find themselves uncomfortable. That's how I saw Gunnar Sønsteby (played by Sjur Vatne Brean) feeling all throughout the movie. Rigid and montone in his presentation, solely focusing on his goals of freeing his nation. That's fine, no, it's great! They showcased him as a firm and balanced leader. But there are no nuances to him, no times for self-reflection except for the uncanny scenes in the bland hall filled with seated people we half the time need to ask: why are we being shown audience reactions that feel disconnected from the narrative?

I was also worried this film would fall into a similar trap as many other Norwegian world war movies; attempting to cramp years of history into an approximately 2 hour film. This is where I believe the the expository-heavy parts appear, aswell as the needless scenes which we could gain from (had they been further engaged with).

This film may just not resonate with my preferences for character depth and nuanced storytelling, but a 5 star-rating, like I gave 'Krigsseileren' 4 stars is where you see this on my list of rated films.