Post by roverpup on Jan 31, 2019 1:27:37 GMT
Dan and I just finished watching an excellent movie called The 12th Man.
It's a multi-country (listed as Norwegian but done in cooperation with the UK et al) 2017 production that is mainly subtitled (but there are a few scenes in English and all the title cards are in English) and about one of the most famous Norwegian WWII commandos Jan Sigurd Baalsrud. The star of this film, Thomas Gullestad, underwent a rigorous diet and lost over 30 pounds in 8 weeks to prepare for this role which tells the tale of the longest escape from the Nazis during the war (nearly 2 months).
The film also stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers (of The Tudors fame) as Baalsrud's nemesis who is hell bent on capturing.
But the most remarkable thing about this film I think is that it has almost NO pedigree at all. If you went by the director's reputation you'd find it completely lacking. Harald Zwart is a Norwegian Dutch director known mainly for music videos and some broadly humorous Norwegian pics about soccer fans. Internationally he has done The Karate Kid and The Pink Panther 2 remake and a couple of other totally unremarkable flicks.
The main actor is no better. He has very little experience and none as a lead actor. Mainly Gullestad is primarily known for being a Norwegian TV personality and member of pop hip-hop group Klovner i Kamp.
But the acting is superb. The direction is taut and sweeping. This is a passion project and every second of film declares this stand throughout.
I guess it proves the old adage "you can't tell a book by its cover" and in the case of this film it was a wise choice to take a cance on an ordinary director and an unknown quantity of an actor to star in the film. A remarkable story and a film that does it justice.
It's a multi-country (listed as Norwegian but done in cooperation with the UK et al) 2017 production that is mainly subtitled (but there are a few scenes in English and all the title cards are in English) and about one of the most famous Norwegian WWII commandos Jan Sigurd Baalsrud. The star of this film, Thomas Gullestad, underwent a rigorous diet and lost over 30 pounds in 8 weeks to prepare for this role which tells the tale of the longest escape from the Nazis during the war (nearly 2 months).
The film also stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers (of The Tudors fame) as Baalsrud's nemesis who is hell bent on capturing.
But the most remarkable thing about this film I think is that it has almost NO pedigree at all. If you went by the director's reputation you'd find it completely lacking. Harald Zwart is a Norwegian Dutch director known mainly for music videos and some broadly humorous Norwegian pics about soccer fans. Internationally he has done The Karate Kid and The Pink Panther 2 remake and a couple of other totally unremarkable flicks.
The main actor is no better. He has very little experience and none as a lead actor. Mainly Gullestad is primarily known for being a Norwegian TV personality and member of pop hip-hop group Klovner i Kamp.
But the acting is superb. The direction is taut and sweeping. This is a passion project and every second of film declares this stand throughout.
I guess it proves the old adage "you can't tell a book by its cover" and in the case of this film it was a wise choice to take a cance on an ordinary director and an unknown quantity of an actor to star in the film. A remarkable story and a film that does it justice.