Narvik – Hitler’s First Defeat (2022) – Disappointing

I got at least three messages asking me to take a look at the latest Netflix release and so watched the film.

First: the plus.

This is a Norwegian production with Norwegian actors, thus devoid of the typical Hollywood “showbiz” angle. However, there are some war movie cliches.

Second Plus: while the story of the onscreen couple is fictional, the events happen within the arc of the entire two-month-long Norwegian campaign.

Now the minus (in my view): The title is slightly misleading. Narvik may have been a tactical defeat for Hitler, but the Germans fully occupied Norway immediately after.

With that in mind, if we look at the overall story, it does make some interesting viewing. Simply put, there are two stories. Corporal Gunnar Tofte (Carl Eggeslbo) is on leave from military maneuvers and meets his wife, Ingrid Tofte (Kristine Hartgen). He overstays his leave and heads back just in time to see the Germans land in Narvik – to seize the port and ensure that the iron ore supply from Sweden is undisturbed.

Ongoing negotiations between the British Consul(Billy Campbell) and German Consul Fritz Wussow (Christoph Bach) are summarily shut down due to the German invasion.

Separated from her husband, Ingrid has to manage her waitress job while being forced into serving as an interpreter for the Germans. With the husband away, people suspect the obvious, and tongues start wagging. The British consul in hiding threatens her. The Germans pressurize her. Her countrymen see her interactions with the Germans as perfidy and dont like her.

Meanwhile, Gunnar has been taken prisoner after a failed attempt to blow up a vital bridge.He is saved from sure death by the joint French-British invasion of Narvik and fights further battles to save his country and expel the Germans.

War separates the couple and brings them together, only to have Gunnar hear the whispers about his wife.

The whole plot sounds very “filmi” and plods along at a plodding pace well within the historical background. Narvik is at first captured by the Germans, liberated by the Allies, and then again captured by the Germans once the Allies leave without so much as a thank you or a goodbye. It was a cynical decision to leave the Norwegians to their own devices, but simultaneously, the extended sea lanes from Britain were already vulnerable. At the same time, France and other countries in western Europe would be invaded.

The Norwegian Nazi party and its leader Vidkun Quisling actively collaborated with the Germans. The term Quisling would forever enter the lexicon for a collaborator.

The cinematography of the snow-clad countryside is simply stunning.

The film, unfortunately, plods along at a very slow pace. It’s almost as if we are watching a historical documentary rather than a movie with actors. The battle scenes are well executed, with abundant use of CGI

Ingrid’s character is well developed as she is caught between her family and the Germans and the overall history. This could have been a great film, but the slow plodding script with some “filmi” elements lets it down.

The film is available on Netflix

Real History/ Historical background  – 4 out of 5

Equipment and Kit – 4 out of 5

Locations or substitutes – 4 out of 5

Role of women – 4 out of 5

Script – 2 out of 5

Overall Rating – 3.6 out of 5