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Apr 22, 2018Nursebob rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Erik Poppe’s big screen war epic is a masterful blend of sound and image which never overpowers the quieter, human elements at its core. Wintry scenes filmed in bleak washed-out shades are accented by a rousing soundtrack of chorales and tense strings (or heavy silences) while ground and air skirmishes, already frightening in their ferocity, are further punctuated by nearly subsonic jolts—indeed, Poppe films harrowing scenes of low-altitude bombing runs as if the planes had just flown straight out of Armageddon itself. But stellar cast and CGI effects aside, the film ultimately rests on the shoulders of Karl Markovics and Jesper Christensen who, in the roles of German envoy and Norwegian king respectively, put in outstanding performances as two men bound by duty yet horrified by the responsibility handed to them. Truly deserving of every award it has received, this is what filmmaking on a grand scale looks like.