This film tells the story of what happens in "house C" at a Norwegian reform school in 1915. Bastøy is a strict, prison-like environment situated on an island, and the conditions are very harsh. It was a different time when people had authoritarian inclinations about religion, child-rearing and delinquency.
The story hinges on three characters and their stories: the struggles of a newcomer to adapt (Erling, played by Benjamin Helstad), the moral dilemma of a long-term inmate who has succeeded in this environment (Olav, played by Trond Nilssen), and the housemaster who enjoyed this world far too much, despite the low pay (Bråthen, played by Kristoffer Joner). The other main characters include an abused boy and a self-serving headmaster. Near the end, the movie takes an unexpected turn as things get out of hand. However, I don't want to give anything away. Let's just say the ending might remind you of "Lord of the Flies".
Like Bastøy itself, the film has a brooding, trapped, isolated, cold and colourless feel. The director (Marius Holst) succeeds brilliantly in recreating this world and showing the moviegoer, in a spare and direct style, what an institution like this might have been like for the boys who had to stay there. I think much of the power of this movie is simply in recapturing this world in detail, including the hollowness of the constructs that allowed it to exist. I can't remember a movie where this has been done so effectively, although parts of this movie reminded me of "The Magdalene Sisters". I appreciated the director not dealing with this hastily, glibly, sensationally, explicitly, romantically or melodramatically. This is a deliberate, understated film.
We are shown a primitive, limited and non-verbal place filled with challenged and affectionless boys. I'm not sure how much character development you can have (without resorting to Hollywood stereotypes); however, still the director and writers succeeded in developing these characters incrementally by letting us hear their dialogue and especially by showing us their actions. The moviegoer has to pay attention though. I can't say I was moved by this movie, but I found it gripping and did come to care for the characters.
The modern human spirit sinks when confronted with the reality of institutions like this. Many countries are struggling to understand nowadays why they set up schools like this in the not-so-distant past. The film feels uncomfortably familiar. As we all know now, places like this were abusive institutions that provided a haven for small-minded and abusive men, including a few with pedophile tendencies. Bastøy was no different. I would like to hear the justifications of those who used to run these places, but of course few of them are around now. Of those who are around, few are willing to defend themselves. What could they say?
The direction, the writing, the cinematography, the acting — all of it was excellent.
Surely I am not the only one noticing that little Norway is producing rather good movies lately? Is anyone in the Netherlands producing movies of this quality? If so, I don't know who.
The story hinges on three characters and their stories: the struggles of a newcomer to adapt (Erling, played by Benjamin Helstad), the moral dilemma of a long-term inmate who has succeeded in this environment (Olav, played by Trond Nilssen), and the housemaster who enjoyed this world far too much, despite the low pay (Bråthen, played by Kristoffer Joner). The other main characters include an abused boy and a self-serving headmaster. Near the end, the movie takes an unexpected turn as things get out of hand. However, I don't want to give anything away. Let's just say the ending might remind you of "Lord of the Flies".
Like Bastøy itself, the film has a brooding, trapped, isolated, cold and colourless feel. The director (Marius Holst) succeeds brilliantly in recreating this world and showing the moviegoer, in a spare and direct style, what an institution like this might have been like for the boys who had to stay there. I think much of the power of this movie is simply in recapturing this world in detail, including the hollowness of the constructs that allowed it to exist. I can't remember a movie where this has been done so effectively, although parts of this movie reminded me of "The Magdalene Sisters". I appreciated the director not dealing with this hastily, glibly, sensationally, explicitly, romantically or melodramatically. This is a deliberate, understated film.
We are shown a primitive, limited and non-verbal place filled with challenged and affectionless boys. I'm not sure how much character development you can have (without resorting to Hollywood stereotypes); however, still the director and writers succeeded in developing these characters incrementally by letting us hear their dialogue and especially by showing us their actions. The moviegoer has to pay attention though. I can't say I was moved by this movie, but I found it gripping and did come to care for the characters.
The modern human spirit sinks when confronted with the reality of institutions like this. Many countries are struggling to understand nowadays why they set up schools like this in the not-so-distant past. The film feels uncomfortably familiar. As we all know now, places like this were abusive institutions that provided a haven for small-minded and abusive men, including a few with pedophile tendencies. Bastøy was no different. I would like to hear the justifications of those who used to run these places, but of course few of them are around now. Of those who are around, few are willing to defend themselves. What could they say?
The direction, the writing, the cinematography, the acting — all of it was excellent.
Surely I am not the only one noticing that little Norway is producing rather good movies lately? Is anyone in the Netherlands producing movies of this quality? If so, I don't know who.