Zentropa International Norway, Eurimages, Film Fund FUZZ,
Florian Lukas, David Kross, Stig Henrik Hoff, Lachlan Nieboer, Rupert Grint, Kim Haugen, Knut Joner, Morten Faldaas, Sondre Krogtoft Larsen
In the early days of WWII, both Britain and Germany wanted Norway. In the middle of a harsh winter, four German airmen where shot down by an American plane. The tail gunner died in the crash, but the other three managed to make it to an abandoned reindeer hunter’s cabin, and setup a home there. Very shortly after, two British pilots showed up also claiming to have been shot down. There seemed no way to survive unless they worked together to try to survive the cold and lack of food, but tension was high as mortal enemies tried to exist together to survive the harshest of the winter.
This film is based on the true story. The names of the German airmen were kept the same, although the two British pilots names were changed, I’m not sure why. This is a Norwegian film by Norwegian director Petter Næss. It was a very interesting film, although there’s not a lot of action, but it showed the tension between the two sides very well, and it was funny how they had to keep trying to get the jump on each other, moving around every time the other guys got the guns. Basically it is a survival story, and one of the best parts is how in the end, they let us know what became of each of the participants. It was a tough thing, as it appears that the right thing would have been for one side to kill the other immediately as soon as they had a chance, but they chose to work together for the survival of all. But through all the troubles, they formed a friendship that lasted long after the adventure. Was this expedient or was it treason? All this is explored, but the cinematography is brilliant, the locations and the weather tell the story, and the nuances of day to day life, trying to survive living with the enemy is well handled. Additionally, one of the German officers knew English, but for the most part, they had a very hard time communicating. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with this film and found it quite thought provoking. I don’t recall seeing a film about the war that is done from a neutral position, not taking sides to make heroes out of one side of the other. It is a quite well done foreign film, mostly in English, but with German and Norwegian liberally mixed in as appropriate. I watched with subtitles, and was glad to have the translations to help understand the story. I recommend this for history buffs that are interested in learning the facts of this true story.
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