coastalgrind Reviews

Nokas (2010)

A well made heist movie

[8/10 · 23 April 2023]

Nokas is a 2010 movie about Norway's most spectacular robbery that took place in the early morning of April 5th 2004. It's shot much like a documentary, giving a minute by minute account of what happened from several perspectives: the robbers, the police, those who worked at the bank and everyday people. The over the shoulder style of filming works really well and adds a realistic and intense feeling that carries through the entirety of the movie. Unlike many other heist movies, this focuses strictly on what happened before and during the heist, and the consequences of what happened. Therefore I'd say it's the story that is the films main protagonist, while the characters are just there to serve that story, without going into much detail who these people are or how they got to this point.

Erik Skjoldbjærg does an extraordinary job at serving the story with respect to those that were involved, without glorifying the actions of the robbers while at the same time giving an realistic insight into what happened. You get to see just how unprepared the police in Norway were at this time, taken aback not expecting such a brutal robbery to take place during the middle of a public holiday and the robbers fully taking advantage of this. The shoot-out scenes as well are extremely realistic. Most civilians in Norway had never experienced such a thing before, so a lot of them would just walk through the line of fire while the robbers and police are shooting at each other, with many believing the entire situation was just a drill. There's even a guy who was taken hostage during the robbery who later confessed that it wasn't before the robbers tried to leave that he was finally starting the realise the magnitude of what he was just experiencing. The entirety of this robbery was from all perspectives one huge chaotic event. Skjoldbjærg does a fantastic job of portraying the panic the robbers experienced when things didn't go their way, to how the understaffed police went on to handle the situation. When the movie is finally over, you can't help but feel that you've just watched something great.

Nokas is a must see heist movie for everyone that loves intense realistic thrillers.

Rating: 8/10.

War Sailor (2023)

A must watch

[10/10 · 2 April 2023]

The Netflix mini-series "War Sailor" is adapted from a Norwegian movie released in 2022 with the same name, now only split into three episodes and is around 30 minutes longer in length compared to the film. This is an extremely powerful and compelling story that portrays how much was at stake for normal families trying to make a living during the second world war. The extreme attention to detail really make you feel for the characters, what they experience and go through, and I constantly kept asking myself while watching "imagine if it was me going through all this", it's seriously heartbreaking, and although this is a story based on something that happened 80 years ago now, I can't help but compare it to what's happening today in Ukraine and therefore find the message of the story to be quite relevant.

Since the three episodes are each an hour in length this is a great-binge and a must watch for all WW2 history buffs.

Rating: 10/10.

22 July (2018)

Wow, I'm lost for words

[7/10 · 10 October 2018]

I couldn't have asked for a better account of what happened on that horrible day, and durings its aftermath.

One of my main worries going in was that the Norwegian-English dialect would distract me throughout the entire movie, but I quickly forgot about this a couple of minutes in due to the strong performances, particularly from Anders Danielsen Lie who portrayed mass murderer Breivik.

As a Norwegian I have to say the first 40 minutes were completely horrifying to watch. Seeing the preperation for the attacks and it actually happening (again) pulled me right back to that day, and although it was gruesome, I have to say that Paul Greengrass handled it extraordinary well. The entire segment had a constant «thumping» sound in the background which made the movie feel exciting, almost making me forget this actually happened. I guess this can be both negative and positive, but I don't think anyone could have done it better.

However, the attacks are only a small part of the movie, as most of the film tackles the aftermath. I think an international audience will find it interesting to see how our society reacted and how selfish Breivik was with his actions. One scene I remember in particular is when Breivik is being interrogated by the police, and complains about a cut on his finger that he had supposedly gotten from a skull fragment after shooting one of his victims. It was very disturbing, and it shocks me how un-sympathetic of a man he was and still is.

Greengrass did a good job of following Viljar's (Jonas Strand Gravli) story and making him the symbol of every surviving victim and affected family. I'm glad he put most of the focus on those affected, and I think this is particularly important for us Norwegians who for the most part refer to the attack and the trial when talking about 22 July.

If you're expecting another classic «along for the ride» action-thriller by Greengrass, this is not it. In comparison to his other «based on a true story» movies like «United 93» and «Captain Phillips», the heartpounding, shaky-cam action style we have all come to love ends after 40 minutes, and in the case of this particular story I believe this was the right choice.

All in all, a gruesome and detailed account of the attack, the aftermath and those involved... but a very good one.

8/10