Les Révoltés de l'île du diable

Based on true events, this one of the most expensive Norwegian (+Swedish, Estonian) film was shot primarily in my home country - thus, apart from a good film experience, I had a joy of recognition vis-a-vis places and actors (although Estonian ones had mute or 1-2 word roles only). Anyway, the Norwegian background and spirit with gloom and misery in a closed penal institution were well captured, and all the leading characters were skillfully elaborated and performed (especially Stellan Skarsgård as Håkon, Benjamin Helstad as Erling "C19", Trond Nilssen as Olav "C1"). Most of the screenplay is focused, however, on the "normal" routine in the establishment, boys versus staff, the rebellion itself and its consequences are shown in a limited time and space (I would have liked to know what happened to the revolting boys, and how the usual living was restored).

Nevertheless, Kongen av Bastøy is a strong drama, giving food for thought long after the credits disappear.

Heart rendering true story about an uprising at a notorious correctional facility for juveniles on a Norwegian island. When a new prisoner arrives Erling (Ben Helstand), his unrelenting passion to escape, prevail against repression, and rebel against authority figures immediately puts him in hot water. The young men in this facility must endure horrendous conditions, as well as physical and mental abuse daily. Eriling's unflinching bravery eventually and collectively inspires and galvanizes these young men together in their life altering uprising against oppression.

At first, the young men are unnamed (assigned numbers), completely alone, and without much hope for the future. However, Eriling's tenacious spirit leads to uniting broken spirits, establishing relationships, and not to be afraid to follow your dreams. The cinematography and barren landscape perfectly captures and enhances the cold- hearted spirit of the corrections facility, and the people who run it. The metaphor that is used throughout the film, and the evolving story of the "harpooner" is just perfect. Never falls victim to cheap melodrama; inspirational and touching. Impressive achievement by director Marius Hoist. Both performances by Stellan Skarsgard and Benjamin Heistad are simply marvelous.

King of Devil's Island (2010)

A very straight forward, hard hitting, well acted account based on a true story of a boy's penal colony on a Norwegian Island early in the 20th Century.

That says it all. It is what it is, and there is the almost inevitable rebel and leader among the boys against the sometimes evil, sometimes indifferent adults who rule the group with false benevolence. You know who is right and who is wrong, and you follow the plot with a mixture of expectation and outrage. It's dramatic great stuff. Yes, been there and seen that somehow before, but it's severe and beautiful in its setting and intense and provocative within.

It might be interesting to compare this to more famous prison movies (the dubious "Shawshank" and earlier classics like "Birdman from Alcatraz") to realize how much this one is holding to a line of truth. As much as the events are extreme (eventually), the filmmaking is filled with restraint. Compare further to a movie like "Shutter Island" and you know that this one is practically a grey, subdued documentary.

And this is to its advantage. It's not a mind-blowing experience in cinema terms--it's just a really well done, focused, sensitive telling of a forgotten story of repression and survival and maybe, in the end, the every lifting human spirit.

'The King of Devil's Island' tells a familiar story of the abuse of authority, in it's portrayal of the life in a tough boys' prison in early 20th century Norway. More unusually, there's no story of tyranny among the inmates themselves, and moreover, the staff are quietly evil: the child abuser, and the governor who turns a blind eye while simultaneously believing that his regime is morally improving. Indeed, for a story of harshness and death, the film could be considered understated, except for the powerful melodrama of its climax, which is well-earned by the lower key, but convincing, material that proceeds it. And like other Scandanavian movies, it gains power through the sheer fact of the climate: when folly could mean freezing to death, there's an underlying seriousness absent in more clement environments.

Kongen av Bastøy is based on actual events happening on the Bastøy correctional facility for difficult boys, back in 1915. The Norwegian island Bastøy is located in the Oslo fjord, between Horten and Moss, about an hours drive south of Norway's capitol, what until 1919 was called Christiania before changing name back to original Oslo.

Marius Holst has made another good film about young boys coping with coming of age. This time he has gone to the core of coping with misplaced childhoods. Well acted, and very true to it's time frame, Kongen of Bastøy, is very believable story made with a 10 million dollar budget. Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner, Benjamin Helstad and Trond Nilssen does the very best of method acting of their characters.

The story is both sore, dramatic and tragic, as well as true. It tries to both tell Norwegian history back when the country was poor, and when it was likely to be sent on a whaling ship, being a youngster from difficult background. So why is this film not a 10 out of 10. so many of these heart-wrenching stories easily make you get tears in your eyes.

Well, I'm afraid to say that this is a true story's dilemma. Making the best possible story come out in a film, you have to love of eel for the characters. The young boys on this facility is not the ones easy to love. They are brutal, uneducated, cheeky, unable to show affection and victims of a difficult past. Though Marius Holst tries to make us understand and feel affection for both the kids and the "wardens" in this boys home, I simply can't really start to like any of the characters.

Well acted, well written, but does director Holst really make us care? He has shown he know how to do this in the great story of "Cross my heart and hope to die", In Norwegian: "Ti kniver i hjertet" and "Mirsush" or "Blodsbånd", and succeeded well there. In Kongen av Bastøy which is a story of 10 years in progress, the trouble is that he had to face reality.

Telling a story on difficult boys, obviously has to show the boys how they are. And Marius Holst is no "tears-seeker". Neither is his leading actor in this. He obviously has felt this story has to be told. And as a historic manuscript on how one solved this cases of difficult boys back then, it functions very well. Just don't expect to really care. Maybe this makes the film even better. It should, but I'm afraid I still feel it lacks this. To really be able to touch a movie-goer, the fictional adding would have done the trick. making the film an even better story, but less true. That's the dilemma of telling a true story. If you want the story to be loved, you gotta add the elements of heart and soul, even if it would be untrue to the story told.

So for this cold bastard, I'm afraid this is just a good told story, and not a classic as I'd like it to be, and maybe also therefore not the possible box office hit it would have been, if made as a heart wrenching story.

Making a film like this loved, really need us to identify. This is the only true trouble with an otherwise great film.

Bastøy correctional facility was closed down in the fifties, when Norway was recovering from the 2nd World war. Now there's a prison out there. I'm sure a lot of kids was growing up hating Bastøy. Bastøy still have a negative sound for Norwegians, well deserved.