Max Manus

Max Manus is an uneducated Norwegian citizen who volunteered to help fight the Soviets in Finland and has returned to a now Nazi occupied Norway. He joins the Norwegian resistance movement and is eventually sent to Scotland to train at an army camp. When he is sent back to Norway he works together with a team of men to bomb German supply ships. Manus and his men must carry out their acts of sabotage without succumbing to the hands of the Gestapo who are eager to stop the groups acts of propaganda and terrorism.

It’s refreshing to see another WWII film that doesn’t star young and handsome Hollywood actors and consist only of killing scenes. Like its Danish counterpart Flame and Citron , Max Manus is realistic in tone and focuses on the mindset of the saboteurs, resistance fighters and victims of war. It is not a two hour blood-soaked gore fest, although there are some scenes of this nature. Max Manus succeeds in being a visually and historically charismatic film filled with tension. Its only flaw may be that it takes on too much history at once. Highly recommended for WWII enthusiasts.

Max Manus is a Norwegian film based on resistance fighter/saboteur Max Manus’ books: It Usually Ends Well and Det blir alvor . It is currently the most expensive film to have been made in Norway.