Sunday 23 June 2019

Den 12. mann (Harald Zwart, 2017)

Based on historical events, The 12th Man relates the story of the sole survivor of a failed Norwegian sabotage mission to their home country. Injured, traumatised and pursued relentlessly by the Germans, he's forced to stumble from one hiding place to another, and is only able to do so with the help of numerous locals. It's a thrilling story in a chilling wintry landscape, with echoes of The Revenant as you wonder how he'll survive to make it to the next refuge, never mind all the way to neutral Sweden, even though you know he will due to the film's historicity. The lead Nazi is of course the usual bastard stereotype, but that's a minor quibble with a gripping stab at a subject that is still current for countries that were occupied, 75 years after the event.

7/10

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