Kings Bay

Kings Bay is a fictional thriller based upon some coincidences occurring around the same time as the cold war was on it's heights in the start of the 60'ies. The accident in the coal mine in Kings Bay in Spitsbergen, in the Arctic Sea, is here told as an allegedly sabotage, made by Russians as a cold war warning towards Norway against having too good relations with USA.

And as such the film functions very well for more than an hour. We get to know the middle aged journalist Harrieth, on the downhill of her career as a journalist, very well played by Norwegian artist and singer Kari Bremnes in her first ever movie role. Amazingly she tends to play better than some of the more known actors in this film, which is quite hard to grasp.

The film is cold and wintery, and is filled with great pictures from the beautiful city called "Paris of the North" Tromsoe. Tromsoe functions in more than one way almost as a main character, and does well.

This film has come out of growing Nothern Norwegian film milieu, and is quite well done. Photography is splendid and quite beautifully done by Gaute Gunnari, which has 15 other movies wit good footage work in his catalog. A bit more work with the manuscript, dialog and some of the instruction could have put this cold war crime thriller up. The film manages to surprise a couple of time, but is otherwise quite conventional. I guess that writer and director Stig Svendsen should have had some assistance, at least in the writing, maybe also in actor instructions. It's quite a pity to see that this i lacking in what could have been a really chilling cold war thriller.

What I really was most disappointed about, was that not even one of Kari Bremnes sings were featured. She should have several that should fit the atmosphere in this thriller.

Still, it's not that bad. I think it's timely to land on a 6/10, as it's crisper and better than most thrillers shown on TV.

Interesting Norwick film that Tells The investigation process of dome facts that tomó place soñé years ago in a mine. Placed in a Small island North Norway. The dark, grey and cold atmosphere of Norway contrasts The Passion and effort of The journalist to explain The political decissions that finished with The Dear of some poor miners. Highly recommended

This formulaic and utterly cliché-ridden conspiracy theory movie was created by a filmmaker (writer/director Stig Svendsen) who obviously has found more inspiration in other films in this genre (both those from the classical American period of the 1970s, such as All the President's Men, and not least the Norwegian 1985 classic with similar thematics, Orions belte) than in the actual Kings Bay accident from 1962, of which this film presents little in terms of hard facts or dramatization. That being said, what Svendsen presents here is an interesting theory - albeit still just a theory. His film is also well shot and looks good in its stylized, nostalgic, underlit way. Norwegian musician Kari Bremnes plays the lead as the ravaged investigative journalist with confidence and intensity, and as probably the film's only non-cardboard character, she adds a drive to the narrative which otherwise for long stretches of the film simply isn't there. But of course, any underwhelming film can to a large degree be saved by an explosive ending.