Kongens Nei

An emotionally engrossing factual account that's brought to life with assured confidence & terrific restraint, The King's Choice (also known as Kongens nei) is an end product of extensive research, competent craftsmanship & skillful narration that brings yet another fascinating World War II event to cinematic life that many aren't aware of.

The story of The King's Choice takes place in Norway during the Second World War and follows the Norwegian King who's forced to make a difficult choice after his nation is invaded by Nazi Germany despite his country's neutral position in the war and has to decide whether to continue fighting the Germans or surrender, a decision that will shape Norway's future.

Directed by Eric Poppe, the film opens with a montage that provides a brief overview of Norway's elected monarch and his role in governing the nation, following which it jumps to 1940 and moves ahead from there. Poppe's direction is brilliant for the most part, as he is able to keep the interest alive and delivers some thrilling moments of chaos & destruction that war brings with itself.

There are only a couple or more battle sequences but all of it is thoroughly riveting & expertly shot. The drama is compelling, the tension is palpable, and its characters are interesting to some extent but there are still a few moments when it indulges in trivial matters which take the focus away from what's relevant. Its 133 minutes narrative is steadily paced but it begins to lose steam after a while.

My favourite aspect, however, is the background score, for it is able to elevate & enrich the impact of many segments with its ingeniously composed & emotionally evocative tracks that are always in sync with the unfolding events. Camera-work is equally well-balanced, and the cast delivers strong performances throughout by playing their given roles with aptness & leave nothing to complain about.

On an overall scale, The King's Choice has its shares of positives & negatives but it manages to be a gripping experience for the most part. It doesn't hold back anything when it comes to capturing the visceral nature of war and is fabulously supported by a rousing score in those moments but it also lacks the same level of intensity in the dramatic portions at times and fails to hit as hard as it was capable of. Still, definitely worth a shot.

My main feeling after seeing this movie, which covers the first few days of the second world war in Norway, is that I would like to see the movie continue all the way through the war.

While the performances are all great, and the locations used, the costumes, the recreations of Oslo and the soundtrack all contributed into making this an excellent movie - the highlight was how this story was told and the movie cut together. If you don't like inter titles, you won't like this movie. Every scene is introduced with location, date and time. And it works. I didn't always pay much attention to it, but the moments it chooses all feel like real moments in the story, the important highlights of actions performed by the people involved.

I do appreciate that they also spread their focus a bit wider than just the royal family. The German diplomat was an interesting character, trying his best to get a handle on a terrible situation, and doing a good (though futile) job. The young men on the front line are portrayed in a way that really shows the horrors of war on an ultimately inexperienced crowd. But the main story here is that of the royal family, who is made to seem more human than any other depiction I have seen of them, including most documentaries. They are not people born into a stoic calm, but rather people born into a job that at its worst can be really difficult and pressing.

The critique of this movie is mostly about what it is not: a new perspective. Again, you follow the heroes of the war, the people we shouldn't forget (and haven't forgotten). While I completely agree with the people wanting something new, this has little to do with this movie.

It's about the most dramatic days in Norway 20th century history. 8-11 April 1940, the time of the German attack. Norwegian military is unprepared. The king, the government and the parliament leave Oslo.

The Germans want to negotiate after occupying main Norwegian cities. They turn directly to the king, trying to make it his decision to avoid more bloodshed. That's his decision. And there is an answer.

Jesper Christensen is tremendous as king Haakon, making the moral dilemma more complicated than it's described in the script. Much is really filmed theatre here, but you tend to forget it, when Christensen is on the screen. Which he is very much.

After so many war films, heroic, impressive, moving, "Kogens nei" is the refreshing refuge. for perspective. for acting, for atmosphere, for the story who you know in a different frame. for a large public, Norway in the WW II is only a detail from blitzkrieg. that film demonstrates other version. not the great one. but one so useful for understand the war, attitudes, answers, insignificant, at the first sigh, details than the story becomes, scene by scene, more and more complex. a film about Norway. simple. precise. admirable. about a form of sacrifice who seems too small. but who change everything. a brilliant film not about the war. but about its people. impecable performances, impressive work. and the feeling to discover a special film. escaping from classic recipes. but being more useful than beautiful. so, real special.

It is from the director of 'A Thousand Times Good Night'. This movie is like the Norwegian version of the Academy Awards winner 'The King's Speech'. Likewise, it was based on the real, that happened around the same timeline of the history, id est, the World War II. Except matching title, it was totally a different narrative. When the Germany was expecting a response to their demand, the Norway cabinet made most of the decisions and turned it down to remain independent country. But from all, a decision that made by the king is what this film was based on and how it changed the Norway's fate was depicted.

This film was sent to the 2017 Oscars, unfortunately it did not advance to the main event. They might have expected recognition similar to the British film. But I think both the films were good in their own way with the kind of story they told us that took place in the backdrop of the most terrible time of the recent human history. So having a similar title name justifies. It is a biopic, but the story was covered from different angles to reveal us what happened on the other side, including one of the young soldiers who fought in that war.

The story begins with the April 1940, while the Nazi army sailing towards Norway and after losing most of the cities to them, the people fled to safer places. That did not spare the Norwegian cabinet members, as well as the king Haakon VII and his family. In those hard times, he kept the nation united by respecting to how the government decided to deal with the situation.

But on one occasion, through a German diplomat with a one-time offer directly from Adolf Hitler leave the king to make the crucial decision for his nation and its people. That's the part of the film to define its title. So everything leads to that moment, how he reacts and what follows decides the Norway's fate to stand on what side of the ongoing war.

❝If I am the last card in the deck, so be it.❞

It's a well made film. Neither too violent nor avoided the war depictions to turn it more drama type. Everything had its share, including those war atmosphere for such budget was impressive. More like it was a running and chasing theme. But in the initial parts, there were too many timelines mentioned about what happened on when. Details like that are really good, though I felt it was too much to take on, especially for a foreign film.

Once the tale enters the mid section, looked all were in order and also got very interesting than before. In a cold country like Norway, in those situations you are like in a multifold trouble. I mean from the common man's perspective. An army is chasing you and harsh winter, surviving that is very challenging.

All the actors were great, but the king steals the show. If this was an American film that had taken place in America, then he would have won the Oscars. The fresh undertaking films on the World War II themes would never go fade away. So this is one of the best in that kind in the recent time. Except the opening, I did not have any trouble following it. Even the 130 minutes looked shortened. But I won't think everybody would feel the same way as I did. Like any WWII films, it is a must see, particularly to learn from the Norway's perspective of the war.

But this was depicted from the early stage of the war. And since it was majorly focused from the king's perspective, being a first king elected by his people, how he had faced it, following his crucial decision leads the way to the film's conclusion. If you are as war film fan, particularly the WWII, the actual best part begins henceforth which I'm hoping for a sequel to focus on. If you are not anticipating like the top WWII films you have seen, it can be picked for a watch. But anyway, I would recommend it.

7/10