Norway - great films
by ToreDM | created - 01 Sep 2015 | updated - 02 Oct 2022 | PublicThe best of modern feature films from Norway - from 1980 up to now. These are my favourites - in random order.
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1. Junk Mail (1997)
83 min | Comedy, Thriller
A lazy postman puts his nose where it doesn't belong.
Director: Pål Sletaune | Stars: Robert Skjærstad, Andrine Sæther, Per Egil Aske, Eli Anne Linnestad
Votes: 2,126
2. The Bothersome Man (2006)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
In a strange city where every person seems content beyond reason a new man arrives in town and stirs up trouble by asking too many questions.
Director: Jens Lien | Stars: Trond Fausa, Petronella Barker, Per Schaanning, Birgitte Larsen
Votes: 18,065
3. Orions belte (1985)
PG | 87 min | Action, Thriller
A group of seamen from Norway find a Soviet listening station and they become targets for both America and Russia. Another cold war takes place.
Directors: Ola Solum, Tristan de Vere Cole | Stars: Helge Jordal, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Hans Ola Sørlie, Kjersti Holmen
Votes: 2,171
4. Free Jimmy (2006)
Not Rated | 86 min | Animation, Comedy
Four stoners, five vegans, three mobsters, four hunters, and a million reasons to free one junkie elephant.
Director: Christopher Nielsen | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Simon Pegg, Phil Daniels, Jay Simpson
Votes: 6,944
5. Pathfinder (1987)
86 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Sámi man witnesses a band of vicious raiders slay his family and flees to a nearby village, where he learns he must become a Pathfinder.
Director: Nils Gaup | Stars: Mikkel Gaup, Ingvald Guttorm, Nils Utsi, Henrik H. Buljo
Votes: 5,597
6. Nokas (2010)
87 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The movie portrays Norway's most spectacular robbery, where 11 men occupied central Stavanger for twenty minutes and escaped with 57 million kroner (appx $10 million). A police officer was shot and killed.
Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg | Stars: Marit Synnøve Berg, Frode Winther, Morten Larsen, Tov Sletta
Votes: 4,844
7. Salmer fra kjøkkenet (2003)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
A scientific observer's job of observing an old cantankerous single man's kitchen habits is complicated by his growing friendship with him.
Director: Bent Hamer | Stars: Tomas Norström, Joachim Calmeyer, Bjørn Floberg, Reine Brynolfsson
Votes: 8,665 | Gross: $0.35M
8. Elling (2001)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
When his mother, who has sheltered him his entire 40 years, dies, sensitive would-be poet Elling is sent to live in a state institution. There he meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and ... See full summary »
Director: Petter Næss | Stars: Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Marit Pia Jacobsen, Jørgen Langhelle
Votes: 15,854 | Gross: $0.31M
9. The Beautiful Country (2004)
R | 125 min | Drama
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Director: Hans Petter Moland | Stars: Damien Nguyen, Bai Ling, Dang Quoc Thinh Tran, Thi Hoa Mai
Votes: 3,975 | Gross: $0.44M
10. Buddy (2003)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Kristoffer is a billboard hanger, 24 years old and carefree. When his girlfriend Elisabeth dumps him for the boss of her trend bureau, his life falls into pieces. He feels like a loser. By ... See full summary »
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Nicolai Cleve Broch, Aksel Hennie, Anders Baasmo, Pia Tjelta
Votes: 4,651
11. Kristin Lavransdatter (1995)
180 min | Drama
Kristin is the daughter of a prominent landowner in medieval Norway. She grows up in total harmony with the ideals of the time: strong family ties, social pride and devout Christianity. She... See full summary »
Director: Liv Ullmann | Stars: Elisabeth Matheson, Bjørn Skagestad, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Henny Moan
Votes: 1,018
12. Eggs (1995)
86 min | Comedy, Drama
Two brothers in their seventies, Pa and Moe, have lived together all their lives in a little house in the country, the only interruption being when Pa made a weekend trip to Småland on his ... See full summary »
Director: Bent Hamer | Stars: Sverre Hansen, Kjell Stormoen, Leif Andrée, Juni Dahr
Votes: 957
13. A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010)
Not Rated | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Ulrik's released from prison after 12 years for murder. Will he go straight? He gets a room and a job as mechanic. He hooks up with his old gang. His son introduces him as uncle to his pregnant fiancée.
Director: Hans Petter Moland | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Bjørn Floberg, Jorunn Kjellsby, Gard B. Eidsvold
Votes: 7,324 | Gross: $0.04M
14. In Order of Disappearance (2014)
R | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
After his son is murdered by drug dealers, a snowplow driver starts seeking revenge.
Director: Hans Petter Moland | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Bruno Ganz, Pål Sverre Hagen, Jakob Oftebro
Votes: 29,128 | Gross: $0.05M
15. Oslo, August 31st (2011)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
One day in the life of Anders, a young recovering drug addict, who takes a brief leave from his treatment center to interview for a job and catch up with old friends in Oslo.
Director: Joachim Trier | Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Hans Olav Brenner, Ingrid Olava, Malin Crépin
Votes: 29,622 | Gross: $0.10M
16. 1001 Grams (2014)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama
When Norwegian scientist Marie attends a seminar in Paris on the actual weight of a kilo, it is her own measurement of disappointment, grief and, not least, love, that ends up on the scale.
Director: Bent Hamer | Stars: Ane Dahl Torp, Laurent Stocker, Hildegun Riise, Stein Winge
Votes: 1,589
17. Børning (2014)
89 min | Action, Comedy
The illegal sports car race "Street legal" goes 2000 kilometers through Norway from Oslo to North Cape, and Roy has been challenged to participate. At the same time, he has to look after his daughter.
Director: Hallvard Bræin | Stars: Anders Baasmo, Ida Husøy, Sven Nordin, Otto Jespersen
Votes: 5,177
18. Kamilla (1981)
110 min | Drama
A young girl growing up in Bergen, Norway just after the 2nd world war, is trying to deal with the father's adultery and mother's deep depression, as she befriends a boy. This endangers her.
Director: Vibeke Løkkeberg | Stars: Nina Knapskog, Kenneth Johansen, Helge Jordal, Vibeke Løkkeberg
Votes: 166
19. Troll Hunter (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
Director: André Øvredal | Stars: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Nærum, Glenn Erland Tosterud
Votes: 79,517 | Gross: $0.25M
20. The Other Side of Sunday (1996)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
The Other Side of Sunday criticizes the small, and often tight church community. We follow the Preachers Daughter; Maria, in her journey to liberate herself from the stiff church community and her strict religious father.
Director: Berit Nesheim | Stars: Marie Theisen, Hildegun Riise, Bjørn Sundquist, Sylvia Salvesen
Votes: 1,283
21. Kon-Tiki (2012)
PG-13 | 118 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Legendary explorer Thor Heyerdahl's epic 4,300-mile crossing of the Pacific on a balsawood raft in 1947, in an effort to prove that it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.
Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg | Stars: Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo, Gustaf Skarsgård, Odd-Magnus Williamson
Votes: 51,945 | Gross: $1.52M
22. Insomnia (1997)
Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
In a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.
Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Maria Mathiesen, Gisken Armand
Votes: 15,579 | Gross: $0.22M
23. Reprise (2006)
R | 105 min | Drama
Fueled by literary aspirations and youthful exuberance, two competitive friends endure the pangs of love, depression, and burgeoning careers.
Director: Joachim Trier | Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman Høiner, Viktoria Winge, Odd-Magnus Williamson
Votes: 15,618 | Gross: $0.55M
24. Izzat (2005)
107 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Izzat (honor), the concept of honor in North India and Pakistan.
Director: Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen | Stars: Emil Marwa, Khawar Gomi Sadiq, Assad Siddique, Daud Mirza
Votes: 2,274
25. Max Manus: Man of War (2008)
Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The true story about one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II and his battle to overcome his inner demons.
Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg | Stars: Aksel Hennie, Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ken Duken
Votes: 29,765
26. En håndfull tid (1989)
97 min | Drama
Gothic thriller about Old Martin who heeds the voice of Anna, who calls him back to the mountain cabin where he left her to die while she gave birth to their surviving son.
Director: Martin Asphaug | Stars: Espen Skjønberg, Nicolay Lange-Nielsen, Camilla Strøm Henriksen, Per Jansen
Votes: 342
27. Aberdeen (2000)
106 min | Drama
A mom dying in Aberdeen, Scotland, asks her coke snorting, nympho, London lawyer daughter to get her estranged, alcoholic dad in Oslo, Norway, to Aberdeen. He's drunk at the airport, so they travel together by car and ferry.
Director: Hans Petter Moland | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Lena Headey, Jean Johansson, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 3,463 | Gross: $0.06M
28. Headhunters (2011)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Julie R. Ølgaard
Votes: 106,947 | Gross: $1.20M
29. The 12th Man (2017)
Unrated | 135 min | Drama, History, Thriller
They were 12 saboteurs. The Nazis killed 11 of them. This is the true story of the one that got away.
Director: Harald Zwart | Stars: Thomas Gullestad, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Marie Blokhus, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen
Votes: 29,189
30. What Will People Say (2017)
106 min | Drama
The story of Nisha, daughter of a Pakistani-Norwegian family, who is kidnapped to Pakistan by her parents when her father finds her in bed with a man.
Director: Iram Haq | Stars: Maria Mozhdah, Adil Hussain, Ekavali Khanna, Rohit Saraf
Votes: 5,941 | Gross: $0.04M
31. Hope (2019)
125 min | Drama, Romance
The relationship between artist-partners Tomas and Anja is put to the test after Anja gets a life-threatening diagnosis.
Director: Maria Sødahl | Stars: Andrea Bræin Hovig, Stellan Skarsgård, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne, Alfred Vatne
Votes: 2,566
32. Barn (2019)
157 min | Drama
Lykke (13), the daughter of a prominent Labour Party politician, has accidentally beaten her classmate Jamie, the son of a local right wing-politician, to death. Lykke claims Jamie's death ... See full summary »
Director: Dag Johan Haugerud | Stars: Henriette Steenstrup, Jan Gunnar Røise, Thorbjørn Harr, Brynjar Åbel Bandlien
Votes: 1,238
33. Thelma (2017)
Not Rated | 116 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A confused religious girl tries to deny her feelings for a female friend who's in love with her. This causes her suppressed subconsciously-controlled psychokinetic powers to reemerge with devastating results.
Director: Joachim Trier | Stars: Eili Harboe, Kaya Wilkins, Henrik Rafaelsen, Ellen Dorrit Petersen
Votes: 36,593 | Gross: $0.15M
34. The Worst Person in the World (2021)
R | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Director: Joachim Trier | Stars: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner
Votes: 97,241
35. Betrayed (2020)
126 min | Drama, History, War
The Braude family's experiences when Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany and Jews were arrested and deported.
Director: Eirik Svensson | Stars: Jakob Oftebro, Pia Halvorsen, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Carl Martin Eggesbø
Votes: 2,409
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