Accuracy in Review: Narvik

 

German soldiers oversee the Norwegian retreat in the movie Narvik

After hearing the Norwegian Youtuber Archcast praise the movie Narvik, I knew I had to keep an eye out for it. I was lucky that Netflix released the film for Singapore on their streaming service. I was not disappointed.

Synopsis
The movie covers the events of the World War 2 in the town of Narvik. Despite Norway promising to be neutral during the ongoing war, Nazi Germany invades them anyway to secure the supply of iron from Norway. 

The film focuses the effects of the war on the Totfe family, namely Gunnar (who is a conscript of Norwegian Army), Ingrid (who works as a translator in a hotel) and Ole (their son). As the war continues, the differing priorities of Gunnar and Ingrid start to fragment the family apart. Gunnar wants to resist the Germans, while Ingrid wants a comfortable life for Ole.

Ingrid faces a difficult life of living under Nazi Occupation

What the film got right
I must commend the film for portraying the effects of war on occupied civilians sensibly. While the Totfe family is fictional, the struggles of the occupied residents of Narvik were nonetheless real.

Narvik itself was initially captured by the Germans in April 1940, and was freed by the joint Polish-French-British forces two months later (This was considered the German's first major defeat of the war). In this period, Ingrid had to look after her son alone after Gunnar got captured and a random Allied bomb killed Gunnar's father.

When Ole fell ill, Ingrid had to struggle between collaborating with the Germans (who controlled the medicine), or working with the liberating British (who demanded more and more of her).

This rightly captures the struggles of the occupied. Should they work with their captors for basic necessities? Or should they resist full-heartedly at the risk of the health of their loved ones? As with any major moral decisions in war, there are no easy answers. That, I believe, should be the right attitude when examining the actions of the occupied.

Despite the liberation of Narvik in May 1940, the town again fell into German hands in June 1940 and was not liberated till 1945. The battle of Narvik in 1940 was the largest World War 2 battle fought on Norwegian soil.