3. Max Manus
Year 2008,
Directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg,
Starring Aksel Hennie, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Agnes Kittelsen, Ken Duken, Petter Næss. English-speaking filmgoers arent exactly short of high quality World War II films, with hundreds of high quality releases ranging from The Great Escape to Saving Private Ryan exploring almost every imaginable aspect of the war, utilising stories both real and fictional to give audiences an insight into the deadliest conflict of recent history. Most American and English films focus on either the European or Pacific campaigns, however, ignoring the happenings in countries whose role in the war was minor in comparison to the likes of Britain, France and Germany. Norway was occupied by the Germans throughout the war, captured in order to give the Nazis North Atlantic ports from which they could conduct naval operations, amongst other things. A resistance movement soon developed throughout the country, which birthed the legend of Max Manus. Having initially fought for the Finns against the Soviets, Manus escaped to Britain from occupied Norway, before returning to his homeland as a saboteur of German ships. The film, starring Steve Buscemi lookalike Aksel Hennie as Manus, depicts this episode of his life in dramatic fashion. One of the largest productions in Norwegian history, the film is also one of the countrys best, adding yet another film to the enormous list of great WW2-set productions from around the world.