đłđ´ GOLD RUN đłđ´
Gold Run (2022) is a Norwegian war, historical, thriller feature film available on BBC iPlayer in the U.K. Run time is 1 hour 57 minutes. In Norwegian, German and English with embedded subtitles. No rating was given.
Premise:
âHe’s not the bravest of men, but he’s given a great responsibility and an enormous task – to get the whole Norwegian gold reserve away from the Germans during the invasion of Norway during the outbreak of WW2.â IMDb
Cast:
Jon Ăigarden as Fredrik Haslund
Thorbjørn Harr as Oscar Torp
Sven Nordin as Odd Henry
Anatole Taubman as Major Otto Stoltmann
Ida Elise Broch as Nini Haslund Gleditisch
Axel Bøyum as Ingvar Berge
Gard B. Eidsvold as Andreas Lund
Karin Klouman as Irene Haslund
Morten Svartveit as Nordahl Grieg
Crew:
Writers: Thomas Moldestad, Jørgen Storm Rosenberg, Sofia Lersol Lund, Lasse Lindtner, Arne Lindtner NÌss
Director: Hallvard BrĂŚin
Composer: Christian Wibe
Cinematographer: Oskar Dahlsbakken
Editors: Vidar Flataukan, Thomas Grotmol
Special Effects Supervisors: Pül Morten Hverven, Hummer Højmark
Visual Effects Producer: Lars Erik Hansen
Visual Effects Supervisor: Arne Kaupang
Costume Designer: Sofie Rage Larsen
Location:
à ndalsnes, Rauma, Møre og Romsdal, Norway
Notes:
Flight of the Norwegian National Treasury:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_Norwegian_National_Treasury
Review:
Having watched several films and series set in Norway just prior to and during World War ll this film about how Norwayâs gold reserve was moved to safety was appealing. At the very least, I thought, it would add to my wider understanding of how this conflict affected both the country and its people. And it was the characters as much as the task itself that I anticipated being the most appealing, for me. Hereâs my take on Gold Run.
The characters are quite well developed in this film, if a little stereotypical at times. Itâs hard to know, of course, how much these individuals were as they are portrayed, but some seemed lacking in depth and nuance. I did get the feeling at times that they were âwrittenâ as their dialogue didnât come over as organic and natural. I would also have preferred if the motivations for some were explored more deeply.
The acting is pretty solid in this, with great performances, especially by Jon Ăigarden, Ida Elise Broch and Axel Bøyum. There were a couple of instances (I wonât specify which) where I knew someone was acting.
The special and visual effects are very good throughout Gold Run. There are a lot of scenes involving explosives and other effects. The sound design was also good. I loved the costuming, music and locations. The directional decisions were generally good along with the cinematography. There were several scenes which had good tension and a real sense of jeopardy.
Sometimes the direction, combined with everything else, spoke âTV movieâ to me; I canât specify exactly why, but it was there. I did like the way it was edited which kept the storyline on track.
Gold Run is quite uneven in tone, I found. Parts are funny, well, at least amusing and I wouldnât have minded more of these, or less, or none. Humour with a story like this is tricky and I do think it works best when it is firmly committed to. As it is the humour just didnât seem to be as effective as it might have been. Certainly, if it had been far funnier until things switched to being much more serious it may well have made it more impactful. Parts of the film just came over as a bit twee and cheesy, although I could appreciate the intention behind them.
There was one part of this film I loved which was where a poem is being read by the poet himself. I found this to be easily the most moving part of the film. I also very much liked the captions and photographs at the end explaining who various people were and what happened to them. This was affecting and effective.
For me, Gold Run is a solid enough war film which tells a story worth telling. It isnât one that hit me hard emotionally, and itâs probably (at least in part for that exact reason) a film that I wonât remember a great deal about in the future, unlike some of the other films I have seen set during that era.
Trailer:
More Norwegian Films:
https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/film/norwegian-films/
For those who are fans of Nordic/Scandi TV shows and films there is a great affiliated Facebook Page:
https://m.facebook.com/manvelovTheofficialfanpage/
This online publication also has its own Facebook Page with a wide variety of content:
https://m.facebook.com/reel2reeltalk/
Also on Facebook is the group More Than Only Walter Presents which has its focus firmly on non-English language TV shows, films, dramas and documentaries:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/218639287110920/
More TV Reviews:
https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/tv/
More Non-Spoiler Reviews:
https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/non-spoiler-reviews/
More Spoiler Reviews:
https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/spoiler-reviews/
More Film Reviews: