Kongens Nei

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.

I really liked it. I say it's a "niche" movie because I'm American. Were used to seeing films about the US and UK battles of WWII. This is a mostly quiet film, with modest action sequences. Most of it revolves around the intense pressure on King Haakon and his family. You can feel his anguish. The loving but strained relationship with the Crown Prince is depicted well. I recommend this film to anyone with interest in the first year of WWII.

"Kongens nei', a.k.a. "The King's choice", is a dramatic film that depicts how the Norwegian King Haakon VII (Jesper Christensen) decided the participation of Norway in the World War II immediately after the unexpected German invasion on 09 April 1940. This important historic event is unknown for most of the people around the world what makes this film unique. The screenplay follows the royal family from the eve of the German invasion until the moment they flee to outside the Norwegian border and seems to be very accurate. The great direction and performances associated to an excellent screenplay gives the sensation of a documentary. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

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.

With fine screen writing and heartfelt direction, Norwegian war drama "The King's Choice" (2016) is truly engaging and very well made.

The fifth feature film by director Erik Poppe and the fourth on which he co-operates with screenwriter Harald Rosenløw-Eeg (here assisted by screenwriter Jan Trygve Røyneland), "The King's Choice" boasts a grand performance by Danish actor Jesper Christensen and a beautiful score by Swedish Johan Söderqvist (one of the most important film composers in Scandinavia today).