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War Sailor

2022 ‘Krigsseileren’ Directed by Gunnar Vikene

War Sailor is a magnificent drama that tells the story of the more than 30,000 Norwegian war sailors and their families' fate during and after the Second World War.

Kristoffer Joner Pål Sverre Hagen Ine Marie Wilmann Henrikke Lund Olsen Armand Hannestad Alexandra Gjerpen Florian Schmidtke Tina Rizzo Thor Brekkeflat Arthur Hakalahti Chris André Lee Kyle Borgogelli Kyle Borg Anthony Edridge Kristi-Helene Engeberg Henrik Fammestad Daniel Frikstad Halfdan Hallseth Kim Sørensen Nils Ove Sørvik Odd Gunnar Sørvik Joakim Visnes Karl Vidar Lende Michela Caruana Noah Nygård Eliah Nygård Téa Grønner Joner Daniel Berg Oskar Hallaråker Hellesøy

Popular reviews

Review by yarzy ★★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

War Sailor is an original Norwegian war drama film that later turned into a miniseries on Netflix. Director Gunnar Vikene composed the screenplay himself, and it is intended to be more than just a study of how sailors on Norwegian merchant ships felt after being pressured into participating in WWII. It explores how these sailors were impacted in the years that followed.
The first two episodes heavily rely on the primary portion of the intended story, and they manage to go along quite gradually while essentially avoiding the arduous work that drained these sailors during the first six years of their stay overseas.
It’s a peculiar mixture that should make you feel how Freddy, Wally, and their crew mates are…
Review by Mathias Larsen ★★★★

"The Norwegian tankers are as important to the Battle of the Atlantic as the Spitfires were to the Battle of Britain."
- Sir Philip Noel-Baker
Wow, this surprised me a lot.
Excellently directed drama about the challenges met by the 30.000 members of the Norwegian Merchant Fleet under WW2 and the repercussions faced afterwards. It also highlights what growing up in occupied Bergen must’ve been like.
The first half plays out adjacent to Dunkirk and the second half is really introspective and almost Bergman-esque in its direction. The camerawork, especially the handheld long shots are spectacular and the editing was superb - a level of realism I admire and that these stories deserve, a truly brutal depiction. The pacing is…
Review by joshrowley ★★★

Interesting; overlong; sad; slow; underwhelming; well-made.
Review by SivertHolm99 7

Solid norsk krigsfilm!! Solid krigsfilm!! Solid film!! Solid!!
Review by royla ★★★ 4

Det e nå på tide å slutta å bruka 90% av det norska film budsjettet på katastrofe og krigs filmar
Review by sofie ★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

skuffet, hadde liksom litt høye forventninger.
Filmen startet veldig bra, men etterhvert ble den litt for langdryg.
Var ikke så stor fan av plot twistene som alle var forutsigbar, og synes ærlig filmens histore hadde vært både bedre og mer realistisk hvis de bare lot familien eller Alfred dø, unnskyld.. Jeg gir filmen en eksta halv stjerne på grunn av den spektakulære balletscenen som var høydepunktet :)
Review by Trev 😎 ★★★½

War Sailor is a painful, heartbreaking, and important true story of events that took place during WWII of the pain Norwegian merchant sailors endured.
This was such a sad story from a perspective I’ve never seen before. More people should see this to understand and learn about the pain and hardships Norwegians endured during the war. The impact that the war had on its survivors and the trauma that follows made for a sad watch. By the end I was heartbroken by everything these men went through, but how little anyone else cared. Trauma affects everyone differently and it’s up to us to embrace those who are torn and broken.
This mini-series was filled with great cinematography, camerawork, and fantastic performances from the whole cast. I recommend checking this out if you want to learn about a side of WWII not many others know about.
2023 Ranked
Score: 7.7/10 ⚓️
Review by Maddin809 🎞️ ★★½

Sneak Preview #7 (English below)
Nun ja, nicht der Film den ich erhofft hatte…
Der „War Sailor“ oder „Krigsseileren“ ist ein norwegischer Film über die Erlebnisse des Matrosen Alfred (Kristoffer Joner, bekannt als Atomwissenschaftler aus MI 6: Fallout) bzw. seiner Familie und seines besten Freundes Sigbjørn während des 2. Weltkriegs.
Der Film will dabei weniger Kriegsepos sein als Charakterstudie und Drama, wobei es auch durchaus einige eindrückliche Kriegsszenen gibt.
Die Effekte sind dabei solide und auch die schauspielerischen Leistungen der Hauptdarstellenden haben mich durchweg überzeugt.
Die Schwäche des Films liegt woanders, nämlich bei der etwas ausufernden Handlung und das der Film keinen guten Absprung findet. Denn auch nach dem Ende des 2. Weltkrieges geht der Film noch weiter und erreicht…
Review by vong ★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

She was so close to ending up with 1.97m Sigbjørn :( Pour one out for my girl
Review by Sprellen Homlong ★★★★

Supermegaultra trist, eg grein i to og ein halv time og følte baconchipsen knaste litt vel høyt.
Forresten, ikkje kjøp et godteri som det står liquorice dip på fordi det smake bare rart, men banansplittslikkepinnen derimot e heilt fantastisk
Review by TIFF

Germany’s invasion of Norway during World War II turns two lifelong friends into refugees at sea, effectively conscripted into the Allied effort, in director Gunnar Vikene’s powerful condemnation of war.
The destructive, far-reaching consequences of war are on terrifying display in Gunnar Vikene’s powerful epic War Sailor. When Germany invades Norway in April 1940, life-long best friends Freddy (Kristoffer Joner; The Wave, All That Matters is Past) and Kvalen (Pål Sverre Hagen, from last year’s The Middle Man and the Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki), are at sea. They’re crestfallen to discover they’ve basically been conscripted to sail for the Allied effort, delivering supplies all around the world in unarmed cargo ships. Effectively refugees, they are unable to return home. For Freddy, the…
Review by Gunterina ★★★★ 2

War Sailor / Krigsseileren
Gesehen in der Sneak.
Der härteste und grausamste Film, den ich seit Langem gesehen habe. Und dann auch noch auf einer wahren Begebenheit, im Anti-Kriegs-Genre.
Ich habe mich unwohl gefühlt, mir ging es nicht gut beim Ansehen und mir war schlecht - auch nach dem Film noch. Ich habe viel über ihn nachgedacht und eigentlich hat er sein Ziel damit ja auch erfüllt.
Dazu tragen die grausame Geräuschkulisse (all die Schreie, die Flieger-Alarme, die Flugzeug-, und vor Allem die ständigen Motorengeräusche des Schiffs), sowie die grausame Bildkulisse bei. Ich glaube, dass man gar nicht genau filtern kann, was da alles passiert. Aber es passiert wirklich viel und das meiste davon geht sehr unter die Haut. Geweint…