Nove Vidas

Ni Liv is based on a true story. We follow Jan Baalsrud on his dramatic escape from the Germans after a sabotage-mission. Being the only survivor, he has to flee across the Norwegian mountains to Sweden. He encounters different people and hard weather conditions during his incredible journey.

Director Arne Skouen has created a unique experience of a film. It is a celebration of the human spirit and a tale of incredible courage. The visual style of the film is at a level never seen in Norwegian film before (or after). Jack Fjellstad also delivers a great performance in the leading role. The traces of on stage acting, witch is common in Norwegian film, are completely erased.

In short. This is a highly imaginative and wonderful film not to be missed.

My rating :***1/2 out of ****.

This film is a biopic based on the daring escape made by norwegian resistance fighter Jan Baalsrud. Baalsrud encountered everything from, frostbite, snowblindness, heavily armed German troops, snowstorms etc on his way to neutral Sweden.

This film is very much a traditional, heroic, depiction of Baalsrud and his escape but it's entertaining with amazing nature scenes, fastpaced action, and some very daring stunts that most have been very dangerous in 1957.

The film does not focus on too much depth, characters etc and it doesn't need too because the action is enough. Jack Fjeldstad who plays Jan Baalsrud is good and there are some scenes here that requires a lot of emotional acting that easily could've become ridiculous but Jack Fjeldstad uses some subtlety in order to convey these emotions.

The rest of cast does a good job too but only serves their purpose to drive the film forward. The most impressive part of this film is the action, just like Max Manus (2008)it gives the viewer a fun ride.

The biggest difference and flaw is that Ni liv (1957)does not have that darker undertones that Max Manus (2008)have, nor do we get to know Jan Baalsrud as much as we do in Max Manus (2008).

But if you are looking for a entertaining chasefilm during WW2 in the snowy mountain area in Norway then this film is the first you should see. Also if you liked The Great Escape (1963), First Blood (1982) etc can expect a good experience.

Oddly, this film has been totally unknown to me, as far as I know never been mention on Swedish TV, magazines, etc. It's shame because this film needs a good DVD edition with lots of extras.

While watching this I ask myself why nobody has done any films about Swedish volounteers during WW2? There are some like,Allan Mann, Erik G:son Lewenhaupt, Gustav Lönnbergh etc who was decorated and fought on various fronts. It would be nice to see at least a documentary about these guys but alas, no such luck.

...no beast could have done it! (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Guillaumet's words ,in "les Camarades") This famous sentence was on my mind all along the movie, which I had never heard of before and which was a big surprise for me.Once again,thanks to my good IMDb pal,Oystein ,who provided me with one fine work from his native country.I will try and introduce it to my French cinebuffs friends cause it is virtually unfairly unknown over here.

A resistant fighter ,during WW2,stays in an hospital.He seems seriously wounded.He remembers :the film will consist of a very long flashback.

After all his companions have been killed or captured ,the hero begins a long odyssey to get to the Sweden border.Little by little,we realize that the enemy is no longer the Nazis who occupy his homeland :it's the white spaces,the frozen fjords ,the cold,the wolves ,a hostile nature .The film is so intense that we often "feel "the hero's sufferings.

Remarkable sequences:the hallucinations,the hero sees a woman ,then a neon reading "GRAND HOTEL" while he is lost in a white hell;all these humble people who risk their life for their compatriot,particularly the woman and her baby and the good old grandpa;the "resurrection " when Jan rose from the snow,like a Nordic Lazarus;the final rein deers stampede .

This is really a splendid effort from Norway.

This movie is a true story!

If you are a Norwegian and know your history, you know the enormous sacrifices ordinary Norwegians (sivilians) put them self through throughout the war, but you still may want to know more about Jan Baalsrud (search Wikipedia). MANY like him fought and died with the goal to free Norway.

Another well known Norwegian story from WWII, is the sabotage mission against Norsk Hydro, manufacturing heavy water, to be used by the Germans. Two movies was made:

Norwegian version: "Kampen om Tungtvannet" (1948). The actual saboteurs play the roles themselves. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040504/

American version: "The Heroes of Telemark" (1965). Starring Kirk Douglas. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059263/

For you who may not know what kind of people these movies is about, I will try to explain:

Norwegians has always been a proud population, and have always been known to fight for our freedom. We have our history with Denmark and Sweden, but that is another story. In WWII we were invaded by the Germans. It happened fast. But, we never would except this and civilians got together secretly, often called "Gutta på skauen", in English; "The boys in the woods" - The Resistance Movement", to start to fight against the Germans. Some did minor sabotage jobs and other went to England for further training, and bigger missions.

This movie is based on one of those people, Jan Baalsrud, who went to England for training for missions in Norway.

Directly related to this movie: He and many other Norwegian commandos was on a mission to destroy a German air control tower. Under this time they also tried to recruit for the Norwegian resistance movement. And, it's here the movie begins. One civilian they contact, betrays them, and contact the Nazi's. The mission fails because of this.

Jan Baalsrud survives the failed mission and must escape to Sweden (a neutral country).

This escape IS the movie, and he needs all the lives he can get to survive this trip (that's why it's called "Nine Lives").

It is quite a fantastic and horrible journey, and we get a insight on how much these people are willing to sacrifice (pain/death) to save this man. Jan Baalsrud himself, goes trough as much pain a human being can stand.

I will not tell the story, watch the movie. Just remember, it's a true story!

Verdict:

7/10 for the genuine performance. The movie is a little dated, but still quite watchable.

The first two Best Foreign Language Film Oscars ever awarded were both won by Italy, through Federico Fellini, for LA STRADA (1954; awarded in 1956) and NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (1957); the other nominees competing against the latter emanated from France (Rene' Clair's GATES OF Paris), two I plan on catching up with presently (from India, Mehboob's MOTHER India and, from Germany, Robert Siodmak's THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT) and, from Norway, the film under review. Incredibly enough, Ingmar Bergman's art-house phenomenon THE SEVENTH SEAL was unsuccessfully submitted for Oscar consideration! Incidentally, NINE LIVES was also entered in that year's Cannes Film Festival where it rubbed shoulders with (among others) Mikhail Kalatazov's eventual Palme D'Or winner THE CRANES ARE FLYING, Jacques Tati's MON ONCLE (1958) and prestigious Hollywood fare like THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV (1958) and THE LONG HOT SUMMER (1958).

While the film's title and heritage might suggest a historical chronicle of some tragic national expedition, the story actually deals with a real-life WWII manhunt for a Norwegian spy – engaged with the English forces on an obscure sabotage mission of which he is the only survivor – on his way to sanctuary in neutral Sweden. The film starts with the dispatching of Jan Baalsrud's ten comrades-in-arms during a skirmish with a German patrol boat. Soon enough, our protagonist is on the run from the Nazis while facing the harsh natural elements of the Norwegian snowscape. Despite the inherent danger to themselves, the local communities (especially a young family and an elderly schoolteacher) he comes in contact with all go out of their way to help the heroic fugitive. In fact, the title is a specific reference to Baalsrud's feline-like penchant for survival against all odds: going snowblind; hacking off his own frostbitten toes; being literally entombed in snow for several weeks, etc.

For the most part, the treatment is pretty matter-of-fact (and no less effective for that) with the only stylistic flourishes on display being the intermittent fast cutting whenever impending danger ensues, the repeated panning suggesting the upward direction of the flight and a striking ellipsis that goes from a man picking up the receiver to 'rat' on the hero and his comrades to a ship's cannon firing at their boat; however, there is also some confusion here as well: they are shown being shot at as they reach land – presumably in a flashforward – followed by them still out at sea! For the record, this might well be the first Norwegian film I have watched and, as far as I know, the only other one I own is the intriguing horror film LAKE OF THE DEAD (1958)...