Truly Dreadful Film

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A gripping and tragic movie made even more so because its based on real events. It surrounds the infamous Bastøy Boys Home correctional facility in Norway and the violent uprising that took place there in 1915, led in part by 17 year old inmate Erling who bucks against the brutal regime.I spent the entire movie feeling cold, exhausted and hungry as the wintry isolation almost becomes a character in itself here. Why didn't anyone ever wear a jacket? Was that part of the punishment at the home?Great performances from everyone, although for some reason I'd been expecting more brutality from Stellan Skarsgard, maybe because he always looks so angry and mean. The real problem here was the dorm master! In the end I was left wondering how much of this story is true and slightly confused by the bittersweet flash-forward at the end, how many years later was that? Was "he" a whaling captain? A little vague. 02.15.14

This film tells the story of what happens in "house C" at a Norwegian reform school in 1915. Bastøy is a strict, prison-like environment situated on an island, and the conditions are very harsh. It was a different time when people had authoritarian inclinations about religion, child-rearing and delinquency.The story hinges on three characters and their stories: the struggles of a newcomer to adapt (Erling, played by Benjamin Helstad), the moral dilemma of a long-term inmate who has succeeded in this environment (Olav, played by Trond Nilssen), and the housemaster who enjoyed this world far too much, despite the low pay (Bråthen, played by Kristoffer Joner). The other main characters include an abused boy and a self-serving headmaster. Near the end, the movie takes an unexpected turn as things get out of hand. However, I don't want to give anything away. Let's just say the ending might remind you of "Lord of the Flies".Like Bastøy itself, the film has a brooding, trapped, isolated, cold and colourless feel. The director (Marius Holst) succeeds brilliantly in recreating this world and showing the moviegoer, in a spare and direct style, what an institution like this might have been like for the boys who had to stay there. I think much of the power of this movie is simply in recapturing this world in detail, including the hollowness of the constructs that allowed it to exist. I can't remember a movie where this has been done so effectively, although parts of this movie reminded me of "The Magdalene Sisters". I appreciated the director not dealing with this hastily, glibly, sensationally, explicitly, romantically or melodramatically. This is a deliberate, understated film.We are shown a primitive, limited and non-verbal place filled with challenged and affectionless boys. I'm not sure how much character development you can have (without resorting to Hollywood stereotypes); however, still the director and writers succeeded in developing these characters incrementally by letting us hear their dialogue and especially by showing us their actions. The moviegoer has to pay attention though. I can't say I was moved by this movie, but I found it gripping and did come to care for the characters.The modern human spirit sinks when confronted with the reality of institutions like this. Many countries are struggling to understand nowadays why they set up schools like this in the not-so-distant past. The film feels uncomfortably familiar. As we all know now, places like this were abusive institutions that provided a haven for small-minded and abusive men, including a few with pedophile tendencies. Bastøy was no different. I would like to hear the justifications of those who used to run these places, but of course few of them are around now. Of those who are around, few are willing to defend themselves. What could they say?The direction, the writing, the cinematography, the acting — all of it was excellent.Surely I am not the only one noticing that little Norway is producing rather good movies lately? Is anyone in the Netherlands producing movies of this quality? If so, I don't know who.

Based on true events, this one of the most expensive Norwegian (+Swedish, Estonian) film was shot primarily in my home country - thus, apart from a good film experience, I had a joy of recognition vis-a-vis places and actors (although Estonian ones had mute or 1-2 word roles only). Anyway, the Norwegian background and spirit with gloom and misery in a closed penal institution were well captured, and all the leading characters were skillfully elaborated and performed (especially Stellan Skarsgård as Håkon, Benjamin Helstad as Erling "C19", Trond Nilssen as Olav "C1"). Most of the screenplay is focused, however, on the "normal" routine in the establishment, boys versus staff, the rebellion itself and its consequences are shown in a limited time and space (I would have liked to know what happened to the revolting boys, and how the usual living was restored). Nevertheless, Kongen av Bastøy is a strong drama, giving food for thought long after the credits disappear.

KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND (Kongen av Bastøy) is an experience more than a film. It dares to take the viewer where all is black and white, emotionally and visually, and while the film is shot in color, the only moment of color in this dark, atmospherically eerie snow bound island boys prison is the occasional blood and fire that creates even more of an impact because of the bleak screen that serves as background for the story. Based on a true story by Mette M. Bølstad and Lars Saabye Christensen and adapted for the screen by Dennis Magnusson and Eric Schmid, the fine cast is directed by Marius Holst.In 1915 on the island Bastøy, located in the Oslo fjord, live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18 in the Bastøy Boys Reform School. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and Governor Bestyreren (Stellan Skarsgård) who is stern but seemingly fair in his management of the reform school (his wife lives with him in an opulent manner). But the Housemaster, a smarmy pedophile names Master Bråthen (Kristoffer Joner), is cruel and malicious and bestows both mental and physical abuse on the boys: the boys are used for cheap manual labor rather than being schooled and 'corrected' to return to society. The boys attempt to survive by adapting to their inhumane conditions. One day a new 17 year old boy, Erling who is assigned the 'name' C19 (Benjamin Helstad), arrives with his own agenda: how to escape from the island. How far is he willing to go in order to get his freedom? There is a stalwart lad Ivar/C5 (Magnus Langlete) who is due for release and a rather frail lad Olav/C1 (Trond Nilssen) who falls victim to the Master: these lads are C19's colleagues. After a tragic incident takes place, Erling ends up forced into the destinies of the other boys by leading them into a violent uprising. Once the boys manage to take over Bastøy 150 government soldiers are sent in to restore order. How he maneuvers the escape fantasy brings a surprising ending to the story.The acting is first rate from a fine group of young actors. The cinematography is by John Andreas Andersen and the haunting musical score is by Johan Söderqvist. In Norwegian with English subtitles. A moody, deeply moving work. Grady Harp, February 12