Set during the Nazi occupation of Norway, this is the story of Gunnar Sønsteby, a Norwegian resistance fighter/leader. The plot mechanism is Gunnar as an old man giving a lecture / telling his history to a room full of school children. As he tells his story, 80% of the film is flashback to the events of the 1940's. With the telling, most of it is straight forward resistance warfare (sabotage, who do you trust, etc.). But what makes this film outstanding is the interactions in the present, as Gunnar reflects on his history, what he is willing to talk about, and the questions that the students ask. When is it appropriate to be violent? What is different about "war time"? Did you ever consider nonviolent resistance, like Ghandi? Gunnar's response that Ghandi never faced the Nazis is not sufficient for one particularly interested kid. When the kid says something to the effect of "it seems like nonviolent resistance is more important in that situation", the filmmakers give us time to think. Wait, is it? Or is that just naiveté? It also struck me how daily and personal that threat was for Norwegians, and a that a real resistance grew in opposition. Gunnar telling his story to modern kids (2 or 3 generations removed) is an important part of a society struggling with threat, violence, resistance and freedom. Collectively in the US we haven't experienced a daily and personal threat since the 1800's, too many generations removed to have a connection to the moral dilemmas and trauma, to be able to have an experience informed discussion of what resistance really requires.
5 stars (out of 5)
