"The King's Choice" supposedly centres on King Haakon VII of Norway during the first few days of the April 1940 Nazi invasion of his country, but it is actually about much more than just the monarch: we see the initial engagement between Norwegian and Nazi forces, the discussions of the weak and divided government, the escape from Oslo of the royal family, the conflict between the Nazi diplomatic and military arms, and we follow a teenage soldier as he experiences his first, horrifying taste of combat. Then - almost as an afterthought - we get to that choice: should the king order the end of resistance to the Nazi advance and also accept the new puppet government of Vidkun Quisling? The consequences if he refuses are potentially horrendous. (Super-spoiler: The film's original Norwegian title, "Kongens nei", is in English "The King's No"!)
This is a tremendously exciting film, with a real sense of pace and tension. There are enough battle scenes to keep fans of bullets and explosions happy, although for me the discussions between the characters are the best bits, even if some of them - such as exchanges between the king and his crown prince - are surely inventions of the writers. In the lead role, Danish actor (Haakon himself was from Denmark) Jesper Christensen gives an affecting performance as an elderly man who, after a lifetime of ceremonial leadership, also has to exercise the moral kind. Karl Markovics exudes an air of desperation as the German diplomatic envoy trying to avoid bloodshed, but for me the best actor of the film is Arthur Hakalahti as the young soldier who goes from smirking, tongue-tied teenager ("Hello... king") to battle-scarred veteran in just a few hours.
This was the best film, IMHO, of the 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival and it is one I will definitely watch again.
This is a tremendously exciting film, with a real sense of pace and tension. There are enough battle scenes to keep fans of bullets and explosions happy, although for me the discussions between the characters are the best bits, even if some of them - such as exchanges between the king and his crown prince - are surely inventions of the writers. In the lead role, Danish actor (Haakon himself was from Denmark) Jesper Christensen gives an affecting performance as an elderly man who, after a lifetime of ceremonial leadership, also has to exercise the moral kind. Karl Markovics exudes an air of desperation as the German diplomatic envoy trying to avoid bloodshed, but for me the best actor of the film is Arthur Hakalahti as the young soldier who goes from smirking, tongue-tied teenager ("Hello... king") to battle-scarred veteran in just a few hours.
This was the best film, IMHO, of the 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival and it is one I will definitely watch again.