Prigionieri del ghiaccio

INTO THE WHITE, also known as CROSS OF HONOR, is based on fact and in adapting the facts to the screen director Petter Næss along with co-writers Ole Meldgaard and Dave Mango have turned out a film that could easily have been a stage play, restricted for the most part as it is to the confines on one cabin. But then the vast beauty of the Norwegian landscape would have been sacrificed and it is that use of the bleak snow clad solitude that underlines the effects of isolation on the human response and survival under austere conditions.

On April 27, 1940, while the Germans and the British were struggling to gain control of Norway's vast natural resource to aid their war efforts two enemy fighter planes were shot down over the tundra of Norway. We meet the German soldiers first - Lieutenant Horst Schopis (Florian Lukas), Feldwebel Wolfgang Strunk (Stig Henrik Hoff) and the wounded Unteroffizier Josef Schwartz (David Kross) as they struggle for survival, sleeping in snow caves and finally fining a deserted one room cabin where they settle in without much food and little comforts. Next we meet the British crew of the plane that crashed in the conflict with the Germans - Captain Charles P. Davenport (Lachlan Nieboer) and Gunner Robert Smith (Rupert Grint). The Brits find the German held cabin and join the Germans in a hostile relationship: there is a constant struggle of who is in charge, the Geneva convention rules of prisoners of war etc. But gradually the friction diminishes as the five men cope with finding food, warmth, and the care of Josef's arm, which has turned gangrenous. The facades of their military personalities fade into the unique personal needs of each and the result is an improbable friendship laced with angst, philosophy, humor, and mutual caring: in the end we are all equals and 'enemies' morph into caring friends.

As the credits role at film's end we are informed of the fates of each of the five men. The story is solid, touching, humorous at times, and carries a strong message about what war does to men's minds and It is only when isolated from the 'badges of countries' that these unlikely men becomes bonded. A very strong film.

Grady Harp

The other reviews have highlighted the good and the bad about this movie. It is easy to see what the director was trying to achieve: the concept is a good one, some of the cinematography was excellent, some of the acting was first rate, the story was well told and the human element was explored with humour, subtlety and warmth. These are the reasons it's worth an 8/10.

Without the great storyline and the humour however, this would be a 4/10 movie because: While Strunk and Horst were perfectly cast, without exception, all the other actors, including Harry Potter's sidekick and the Norwegian interrogator at the end, were either average or poor. Davenport was positively awful and nearly ruined the movie...but get through this and some of the clunky bits, and there is enough here to make you laugh, cry and and feel simultaneously queasy! All in all a great story, plenty of humour and humanity but some shabby acting/casting. I'd watch it again though!!

Norwegian director Petter Næss has gathered a fine acting crew in this true story about three German and two British war pilots meeting up in a remote hunting cabin during a harsh Norwegian winter storm up in the high mountains, after shooting each other's planes down during the Second World War.

Being forced to work together, with all doubts and mistrust, they after some days started off what was an unlikely friendship while the war was on it's culmination.

The film succeeds in telling a story of fright evolving into friendship, in a chamber like story. All the five main actors are doing a great job with this interesting story.

It's still in the last part of the movie we start really feeling there's a war going on. If the film is to be criticized, it's for not really making us get into the war feeling at the start of the film.

The landscape is beautiful, and the war is 70 years ago. Will everyone understand the situation. In the end, this is really clear, and the film functions here. I'd really like to get more of the war feeling in the start of the film. A shot down airplane and some soldiers doesn't do that in a winterly landscape. The film gets better the further it gets into the material.

That said, the film is really worth watching. Great acting. The German actors are actually the best. Stig Henrik Hoff is also convincing, and David Cross is doing a good role. Rupert Grint has some troubles getting into it in his first feature after seven Harry potters, or maybe it's me seeing that beyond the witchcraft?

In my opinion Petter Næss has nailed another great film. All of his filmography is worth seeing. Wanting to film this story for a long time, he's given us another epic story from the epic Second World War, giving us the hope that this will learn us to never get into another one.

In World War II, the German pilots Lieutenant Horst Schopis (Florian Lukas), Josef Schwartz (David Kross) and Wolfgang Strunk (Stig Henrik Hoff) crash their airplane in the wilderness of Norway after shooting down a British airplane.

They walk through a snow storm until they reach shelter in an abandoned hunter cabin. Soon the British pilot Captain Charles P. Davenport (Lachlan Nieboer) and the gunner Robert Smith (Rupert Grint) arrive in the cabin and they become prisoners of the German pilots. However, after the initial friction between the enemies, they realize that they should team-up to survive in the wilderness in the beginning of an improbable friendship.

"Into the White" is based on the true story of German and British pilots that crash in the mountains of Norway in the winter and in order to survive, they conclude that they need to work together. In the end, we are all equals and the enemies become friends. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Entre Inimigos" ("Among Enemies")

I really liked this movie. It doesn't attempt to be a Hollywood blockbuster or anything like that. Just a good, smart, watchable film.

If you're reading these reviews, then you probably already know the basic story: several British airmen during WWII find themselves in a remote Nordic cabin with several German airmen. They must cooperate or perish.

There's a great scene where the group is drinking merrily, and find themselves outside, watching a spectacular display of the Northern Lights. Even in the midst of despair, the men are able to enjoy a total moment of solace.