NARVIK

As "Narvik" (2022 release from Norway; 108 min; original title: "Kampen om Narvik" or "The Battle for Norvik") opens, we are introduced to the historical background as to why Norway declares itself neutral at the beginning of WWII, and yet Germany invades it. We then get to know Gunnar Tofte, a soldier in the Norwegian army, and his wife Ingrid, who runs a hotel and becomes an interpreter for the head of the German occupying force. At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this WWII movie is a nice change of pace. Did you know that Norway was officially neutral when WWII broke out? Me neither. And why the Nazis invaded Norway anyway? I'm not going to spoil any of the plot, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. I wasn't familiar with any of the cast, and it didn't bother me in the least. I really enjoyed the photography, done on location in Norway. Please note that the listing of this here on IMDb as "Narvik: Hitler's First Defeat" is inaccurate and never appears as such anywhere in the movie. Last but not least: I read that "Narvik" sold more movie theater tickets in Norway than any other movie released there in theaters in 2022.

"Narvik" bypassed US theaters, and started streaming on Netflix about a week ago. Netflix recommended it to me based on my viewing habits. Glad I checked it out. If you are in the mood for a decent WWII movie from a Norwegian perspective, I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

If I read quite some of the other user reviews, I see many complaints about the movie being too focussed on the story of one family. This instead of on the battle itself. And I can partially agree with those comments. But to use this as the main argument for giving this movie an IMDd rating of only somewhere between 1 to 4 stars, is totally unjustified. This is like saying that "Titanic" is a bad movie because it focusses to much on a love story between two people...

I personally think that "Narvik" succeeded pretty well considering its relative meagre production budget of 'only' 63.2 million Norwegian Kroner, equalling around 6.4 million US$. So before drawing conclusions, let's first take a look at a comparable... For instance "Das Boot" - a WW2 movie that was made in germany over 40 years ago - had a budget of 15 million US$. And mind you, those are 1981 dollars! So it seems that a budget of 6.4 million is peanuts if you want to make a WW2 movie.

So it is only logical that one needs to make difficult decisions with such a budget. And the first thing that needs to be realized, is that expensive battle scenes are very much out of the question. So I am pretty impressed that "Narvik" still contained some pretty good action scenes! A good example are the ground battle scenes that start at 50 minutes into the movie.

I think it was pretty clever to base the storyline on a family relationship between a husband, wife and her kid that live in Narvik. The husband - whom is a soldier that fights for the Norwegian Army - gives us thereby a good idea of the situation that the defending army was facing. And the wife - whom has to translate for the germans - provides us with a view on the considerations on the german side.

I have to say that the storyline could have been more focussed on at least the consequences that the battle had on citizens and the village of Narvik. At least they could have involved more families or people. I think it is indeed a bit to focussed on just the husband and wife.

What is very well done is to make the movie period authentic. The vehicles, uniforms, weapons and other props look all period-true. Combined with filming locations that provide us with excellent scenery, it really gave me the idea that it was World War 2 that I was looking at. And the CGI - where it was used - was also good. Large fires, bombed out areas, planes, ships... for me they all looked genuine. With regards to the planes and ships, it surely helped that they didn't give the viewer a close-up view. The large fires and bombed buildings - whom we could see way clearer - all looked very real.

Combined with some pretty decent acting, I therefore have to disagree with the users that give this movie an IMDb rating of 4 stars or lower. Taking into account all the above - and emphasizing that at no moment I was bored whilst watching the movie - I think that this movie deserves a score of 6.6/10. Just barely making a 7-star IMDb rating.

Seeing what is already possible on the meagre budget it had to work work with, I personally wonder what Narvik would have looked like with a budget of 3 to 4 times more. If I read that the initial idea was to make a mini-series, I think that we have here a big missed opportunity. Because all elements are available to create a mini-series that not only portrays events that are important to Norway and WW2, but that are also a must-see in any persons life...

While looking at what others said on here I found one outstanding and very comprehensive review. I completely agree with everything said by Erik_Surewaard and hope he won't mind me quoting part of his to make up the word count. I strongly recommend reading Erik's comments in full.

If I read quite some of the other user reviews, I see many complaints about the movie being too focussed on the story of one family. This instead of on the battle itself. And I can partially agree with those comments. But to use this as the main argument for giving this movie an IMDd rating of only somewhere between 1 to 4 stars, is totally unjustified. This is like saying that "Titanic" is a bad movie because it focusses to much on a love story between two people...

I personally think that "Narvik" succeeded pretty well considering its relative meagre production budget of 'only' 63.2 million Norwegian Kroner, equalling around 6.4 million US$. So before drawing conclusions, let's first take a look at a comparable... For instance "Das Boot" - a WW2 movie that was made in germany over 40 years ago - had a budget of 15 million US$. And mind you, those are 1981 dollars! So it seems that a budget of 6.4 million is peanuts if you want to make a WW2 movie.

This movie deserves 5 stars. It is watchable from beginning to end, but won't bring you anything more and forgettable with little to no value to talk about with those who have watched it too.

The battle for Norway of course was a note worthy, but seldom spoken of part of history as far as the timeline during the Second World War. This movie did little justice to bring any change to that.

The acting was fine from many of the main charactures, namely Kristine Hartgen, who played Ingrid Tofte. On an equal note, some of the acting seemed to be done by members taken from an after work/school acting club i.e. At least they knew not to look directly at the camera.

I can also say the cinematography was beautiful and location settings were superb. Unfortunately, where so many movies with great effects and stunning shots fall short, the story. The plot is the same as so many films which have come before, it is almost a clichè; likely so that they have something to begin filming with as quickly as possible and quite frankly, with a story line so unoriginal, you would think they might be able to get it right, or at least create it in such a way you can admire the finer details they put in. Not here though.

On a plus, which does deserve credit, the Germans were German, the Norweigens were Norweigen, the British were British and the French were French.

So, if you have found yourself scrolling for an eternity, mindlessly trying to find something to watch and about to give up, consider giving this movie a go... or don't, you will have missed nothing.

"Kampen om Narvik - Hitler's første nederlag" (in English: The Battle of Narvik - Hitler's first defeat") directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg had a hard time reaching the cinemas, two years after first planned premiere,due to covid and then the eruption of the Ukraine war, but when it finally did it does to full houses across Norway.

The plot follows a soldier, Gunnar, and his family during the outbreak of the war, and the freeing of Narvik, a battle which kept going for 40 days, and we can feel the difficulties of war, with his wife obliged to help as a German translator.

The film is superbly filmed in locations Narvik, Drammen and Rjukan, and the sound is awesome.. the story manages to grip on several levels, and I found it both interesting and good, telling me history I didn't know about from before.

Another good Norwegian war movie, well worth a view.