Max Manus is the true story of the World War 2 Norwegian saboteur. It is a story I was oblivious to until watching the movie. Unfortunately many people will stay oblivious to it because the film has been given a small release in Canada and does not have a release date in the USA. That is a real shame, because Max Manus is brilliant and exciting war film. Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, the movie follows Max Manus from fighting in Finland to returning home to join the resistance against the Nazis in Norway. Max Manus finds his calling in sabotaging the Nazis and like an artist is continually trying to one up himself. Increasing attacks on the Nazis leads to the death of many of Manus's friends and allies. Manus begins to blame himself for being the one who has stayed alive. The character of Manus is played by Aksel Hennie and he gives the character a massive amount of humanity. Manus doesn't seem like a super hero out to win the war singlehandedly, but rather is an imperfect person in conflict with himself. He is easy to identify and root for the character of Max Manus. The movie was made for around 8 million USD and it does not show. The sabotage scenes especially the attacks on the ships looked great and were very exhilarating. I especially loved a scene in which Manus has to hold the bicycles of two members of the resistance while the blow up a building. The shot of people streaming out of the building and the look of intensity on Manus's face followed by two explosions was fantastic. Everything about Max Manus is fantastic. Its fundamental message is anti-war. There is a scene after the end of the war where Manus is sitting alone in room. He imagines toasting the end of the war with all his friends who died fighting and this thought is devastating. Seek this movie out as it is a very well made a thoughtful film about war.
A Gold Banana
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