ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

swedeandsour I was surprised by the level of brutality in this film, both physical and psychological. The psychological abuse was even more of a weight than the physical - mind games, blame, isolation, collective responsibility and punishments, shaming, repeated shows of system's strength and of the children's weakness and helplessness - it felt like a mix of a nightmarish boarding school, a kind of cult or Nazi camp for brainwashing and a slave-labor camp for prisoners of war, not of young offenders, many of whom sent for petty crimes.The kids don't have any visitors from family, they don't seem to have any kind of free time for any leisure whatsoever - there is no escape from the drudgery, yet despite being putting their heads down and accepting their lives as slaves, the corrections officers still abused the prisoner-laborers physically, mentally and sexually.Yet it's the hope that sometimes kills you. The location of the island, so close to the mainland yet so far from everyone, makes it worse. Unlike Siberian prisons where there really is no hope of escape, this one is close enough to freedom that kids get the idea that they could make it. The guards have no dogs, no fences, no barbed wire, so there's hope for escape, but winter and hunger will catch up with you.The soundtrack is haunting and fits perfectly with the desolate, hopeless environment. The movie really sucks you in and you empathize with the kids in it, getting enraged at the injustice of it all.It's difficult to watch, but it's a must watch for fans of film.

Leofwine_draca Another piece of Norwegian greatness. KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND (great title, incidentally) is one of those based-on-a-true-story-you've-never-heard-of movies, charting the brutality of life inside a remote and wintry island-based borstal during the early 20th century.Coming across as a Norwegian version of the hard-hitting British SCUM, KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND is great whichever way you look at it. The technical qualities are excellent, as is the acting from a mostly no-name cast whose one main star is Stellan Skarsgard, as miserable and burly as he's ever been. It's the developing relationship between Benjamin Helstad and Trond Nilssen that really makes this involving viewing, despite the distasteful elements of the subject matter and the general feeling that this isn't going to have a happy ending.In any case, I absolutely loved this film and want to see more like it. The Scandinavian countries seem to be turning out hit after hit at the moment, both in television and film, and it's a shame Britain and the USA couldn't follow some of their cues. If you want a lesson in how to make an exceptional bit of drama then you could do a lot worse than checking out KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND.

Bene Cumb Based on true events, this one of the most expensive Norwegian (+Swedish, Estonian) film was shot primarily in my home country - thus, apart from a good film experience, I had a joy of recognition vis-a-vis places and actors (although Estonian ones had mute or 1-2 word roles only). Anyway, the Norwegian background and spirit with gloom and misery in a closed penal institution were well captured, and all the leading characters were skillfully elaborated and performed (especially Stellan Skarsgård as Håkon, Benjamin Helstad as Erling "C19", Trond Nilssen as Olav "C1"). Most of the screenplay is focused, however, on the "normal" routine in the establishment, boys versus staff, the rebellion itself and its consequences are shown in a limited time and space (I would have liked to know what happened to the revolting boys, and how the usual living was restored). Nevertheless, Kongen av Bastøy is a strong drama, giving food for thought long after the credits disappear.

kjetilsj It's such a shame the Norwegian Committee did not choose this film as the contender for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.The acting is top notch from all the main characters. Kristoffer Joner and Stellan Skarsgård's characters really gives you the chill, but the actors that really surprised was the newcomers Trond Nilssen and Benjamin Helstad characters. They delivered the best dialogs and very convincing acting.If you are a sucker for true stories about injustice, mental and physical abuse and uprising against a brutal regime, then go watch this film now! Forget about The Troll Hunter, this is probably one of the best Norwegian films from the last decades.