Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the boys home Bastoy, a new inmate leads the boys to a violent uprising against a brutal regime. How far is he willing to go to attain freedom?
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Title: Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
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8 wins & 11 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Benjamin Helstad | ... | Erling / C-19 | |
| Trond Nilssen | ... | Olav / C-1 | |
| Stellan Skarsgård | ... | Bestyrer Håkon | |
| Kristoffer Joner | ... | Husfar Bråthen | |
 |
Magnus Langlete | ... | Ivar / C-5 |
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Morten Løvstad | ... | Øystein (as Morten Strøm) |
|
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Daniel Berg | ... | Johan |
|
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Odin Gineson Brøderud | ... | Axel |
|
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Magnar Botten | ... | Lillegutt |
|
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Markus Brustad | ... | Jan |
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Agnar Jeger Holst | ... | Arne |
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Tommy Jakob Håland | ... | Terje |
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Richard Safin | ... | Eirik |
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Frank-Thomas Andersen | ... | Gårdsgutt Bjarne (as Frank-Thomas H. Andersen) |
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Arne Brønstad | ... | Husfar Kjell |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of the boys being straightened out with education they end up being used as cheap, manual labor. The boys attempt to survive by adapting to their inhumane conditions. One day a new boy, Erling (17), arrives with his own agenda; how to escape from the island. How far is he willing to go in order to get his freedom? Written by JRN
Taglines:
Norway, 1915, a home for boys. See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
17 December 2010 (Norway) See more »Also Known As:
King of Devil's Island See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
NOK 54,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$554, 16 December 2011, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$7,166, 5 February 2012Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (Extended Edition)Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
As the boys are trying to escape the island, at about 1 hour 34 minutes, the Battleship "Norge" appears in the fog. The "Norge" was a small 300 ft pre-dreadnought - significantly smaller than modern day Frigate. If one assumes that the men seen on deck, are about 1.7 meters tall, the ship in the movie is more than 3 times as large as the actual "Norge" - comparable to a modern day Aircraft Carrier. See more »
Performed by Sigur Rós
Music & Lyrics by Kjartan Sveinsson, Jon Thor Birgisson, Georg Holm, Orri P. Dyrason
Universal Music Publishing Scandinavia AB
(P) 2002 FatCat Records
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
At the time, this was the most expensive Norwegian film ever made. See more »Goofs
The movie grossly exaggerates the size of the lead ship of the Norwegian Navy at the time.As the boys are trying to escape the island, at about 1 hour 34 minutes, the Battleship "Norge" appears in the fog. The "Norge" was a small 300 ft pre-dreadnought - significantly smaller than modern day Frigate. If one assumes that the men seen on deck, are about 1.7 meters tall, the ship in the movie is more than 3 times as large as the actual "Norge" - comparable to a modern day Aircraft Carrier. See more »
Soundtracks
Sigur 1 (Untitled)Performed by Sigur Rós
Music & Lyrics by Kjartan Sveinsson, Jon Thor Birgisson, Georg Holm, Orri P. Dyrason
Universal Music Publishing Scandinavia AB
(P) 2002 FatCat Records
See more »
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King of Devil's Island (2010)
A very straight forward, hard hitting, well acted account based on a true story of a boy's penal colony on a Norwegian Island early in the 20th Century.
That says it all. It is what it is, and there is the almost inevitable rebel and leader among the boys against the sometimes evil, sometimes indifferent adults who rule the group with false benevolence. You know who is right and who is wrong, and you follow the plot with a mixture of expectation and outrage. It's dramatic great stuff. Yes, been there and seen that somehow before, but it's severe and beautiful in its setting and intense and provocative within.
It might be interesting to compare this to more famous prison movies (the dubious "Shawshank" and earlier classics like "Birdman from Alcatraz") to realize how much this one is holding to a line of truth. As much as the events are extreme (eventually), the filmmaking is filled with restraint. Compare further to a movie like "Shutter Island" and you know that this one is practically a grey, subdued documentary.
And this is to its advantage. It's not a mind-blowing experience in cinema terms--it's just a really well done, focused, sensitive telling of a forgotten story of repression and survival and maybe, in the end, the every lifting human spirit.