19/12/2008

Norway’s most ambitious film in 20 years, the NOK 55m Max Manus [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, is being released on 100 domestic screens today by Nordisk Film.

Produced by veteran producer John M. Jacobsen (Filmkameratene), who has experience both in Hollywood (Head Above Water) and Norway (the Oscar nominated Pathfinder), the epic movie features local star Aksel Hennie as WWII hero Max Manus.

Part of the famed “Oslo Group” resistance movement, Manus famously sank two German ships, the Monte Rosa in 1944 and the Donau on January 16, 1945. The film follows his achievements from the beginning of the war until the summer of 1945.

Filmmakers Rønning and Sandberg made their directorial debut in 2005 with the high profile Bandidas [+see also:
trailer
film profile], produced by Luc Besson.

On the morning of the Royal premiere in Oslo this Wednesday, Jacobsen told Cineuropa that the film is coming out at the right time. “Ten years ago in Norway we couldn’t have made the film. First of all, we couldn’t have recreated Oslo the way it looked in 1940-1945, which we can today thanks to CGI technology. Also, there was no interest in WWII. I think that the new generation is truly keen on the subject.”

Sveinung Golimo, who produced the film with Jacobsen, added: “We think the audience is prepared to watch more nuanced stories of our war heroes. We also think our movie will enlighten new and younger audiences on this historical period.”

For Susan Wendt of TrustNordisk, the film’s international sales agent, Max Manus has “a fantastic production value” and also “gets to you on the emotional side. Therefore, we have big expectations for the film.”

Max Manus was co-produced by B & T Film (Germany) and Miso Film (Denmark), with support from the Norwegian and Danish Film Institutes, Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Eurimages. Nordisk Film holds Scandinavian rights.