Gold Run: L'Oro di Hitler

The story sounds risky as a movie but rather early in the film solid characters are established and as much drama and fun as possible is generated from the events that actually took place. The best bits are, rather unlikely, entirely true, like the presence of the poet.

The suspence is constantly turned up as the reality of invasion becomes more and more serious. The action parts are spectacular and very well directed, always cranking up the emotional investment and describing civilian angst in a nation that hadn't seen war for over 100 years.

This was an very enjoyable movie, only held back by some slighter predictabilities with character developments.

This movie is based on real events (Flight of the Norwegian National Treasury) that is not that well known among most people and as a story it works fine. I didn't originally know the details of the actual event so I wasn't sure how much is true. One thing I did look up was the female character Nini who looked like a modern invention to add some women to an otherwise male war. She fought in Spain during the civil war and here she suddenly helps out her secretary brother rescuing the gold from the Germans. Nini Gleditsch is for real indeed, and even the flamboyant Norwegian poet Nordahl Grieg was on this journey. It is otherwise well-known that he died in an air raid over Berlin.

(For good measure they could even have included Norway's legendary prime minister Einar Gerhardsen in the film, but they have left him out.)

All in all, it's a good and uncomplicated movie about Norway in WW2 and one of the few highlights in the defence.

Gold Run promised to be a gripping war drama. However, I could not avoid laughing at unexpected moments.

The film's saving grace lies in its remarkable visual effects. The cinematography captures the chaos of war with gritty realism.

Unfortunately, the character development falls flat. The actors seem trapped in caricatures rather than fully fleshed-out roles. The protagonists lack depth. Similarly, Anatole Taubman, portraying the Nazi officer, resorts to clichés rather than genuine complexity.

War dramas typically evoke somber emotions, but Gold Run could not make you feel that. If you are looking for a more authentic war drama, you'll likely find yourself disappointed.

The transport of the Norwegian gold and silver which started on the day Norway got occupied by the German war machine April 9th 1940 is an amazing story, but the story seem to be over dramatized.

The film is well made, with solid effects and good quality, and this is in fact the mot expensive Norwegian move made for streaming ever, made by Viaplay for their streaming services all across.

A solid A-team of Norwegian actors are doing well in the movie, but it's sad that a couple of them, especially Axel Bøyum is acting this as it was a comedy. Why?

Well, that said. Apart from this the film is rather entertaining, and it does what it should; Make you read about the true story.

It's a primarily fictional David and Goliath story of the historical transport of Norway's gold reserve away from the advancing German army in April-May 1940.

Fredrik Haslund (Jon Oigarden), the secretary of the Labor Party's parliamentary group in Norway and a historical figure, leads the effort to get 50 tons of gold out of Oslo to British ships for transport to England. His sister, Nini (Ida Elise Broch), also becomes deeply involved.

The film follows Haslund and the gold as they go north narrowly ahead of the Germans. Other primary film characters are the real-life poet Nordahl Grieg (Morten Svartveit), Bank Manager Andreas Lund (Gard B. Eidsvold), Major Bjorn Sunde (Elvind Sander), and two fictional ordinary men, Odd Henry (Sven Nordin) and bank clerk Ingvar Berge (Axel Boyum). Major Otto Stoltmann (Anatole Taubman) leads the German pursuit.

"Gold Run" is mostly a fun action picture, with humor provided by Odd Henry and Ingvar Berge, who offer contrasting perspectives throughout. Haslund is meticulous to a fault, much to the dismay of Major Sunde. As expected, Norwegian creativity prevails over dogged German efforts.

"Gold Run" exaggerates events and lifts tension beyond the believable too often for my satisfaction. Thus, it's entertaining but far from historical accuracy.