Kongens nei (2016)

	Directed by: Erik Poppe	INTERNATIONAL TITLE The King's Choice COUNTRY Norway/Ireland GENRE Biography/Historical RUNNING TIME 133 minutes
	Produced by: Finn Gjerdrum Stein B. Kvae
	Written by: Harald Rosenlow-Eeg Jan Trygve Røyneland

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
King Haakon VII	Jesper Christensen	½
Crown Prince Olav	Anders Baasmo Christiansen	½
Crown Princess Märtha	Tuva Novotny	½
Curt Bräuer	Karl Markovics
Anneliese Bräuer	Katharina Schüttler
Guardsman Fredrik Seeberg	Arthur Hakalahti
Diana Müller	Juliane Köhler
Colonel Birger Eriksen	Erik Hivju
Sergeant Brynjar Hammer	Rolf Kristian Larsen
Peder Anker Wedel Jarlsberg	Svein Tindberg

Review

During WWII, the Norwegian king found himself in a political dilemma of whether to continue resisting the German invasion or yield to their demands and surrender in order to ensure peace. It was a highly diplomatic situation and arguably the last time the king of Norway had any real political power. This film from Norwegian veteran director Erik Poppe (Hawaii, Oslo, De usynlige, A Thousand Times Good Night) gives an account of this situation, focusing on the conflict between the pragmatic king and the more emotionally driven Crown Prince Olav (later to become the very popular King Olav V). In fact, there's so much focus on and screen time given to the two monarchs that the film at times is bordering on chamber drama. Early on we're also presented with a panoramic view of 1940s Oslo, and there's a segment with a skirmish between German forces and Norwegian militia, but Poppe isn't able to give these glimpses of life in wartime Norway more than a digressive value. The result is that Kongens nei by no means is a war film; it's a film about diplomacy and political decisions, and although the stakes are high, the film is never able to transcend the face value of these proceedings. Among several above-average performances, the best belongs to Karl Markovics as the German diplomat Curt Bräuer.