• Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop Rated MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
      What's on TV & StreamingWhat's on TV & StreamingTop Rated ShowsMost Popular ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
      What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb TVIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
      OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersGolden GlobesEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
      Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
      Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
    For Industry Professionals
      AllTitlesTV EpisodesCelebsCompaniesKeywords
    • Advanced Search
    Watchlist
    Sign In
    Welcome to the new version of this page.
    Learn more
    Report an issue

    King of Devil's Island

    Original title: Kongen av Bastøy
    • 20102010
    • Not RatedNot Rated
    • 1h 56min
    IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    18K
    YOUR RATING
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Stellan Skarsgård and Benjamin Helstad in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    ActionDrama

    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?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?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?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?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?

    • Director
      • Marius Holst
    • Writers
      • Mette M. Bølstad(story)
      • Lars Saabye Christensen(story)
      • Dennis Magnusson(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Benjamin Helstad
      • Trond Nilssen
      • Stellan Skarsgård
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Marius Holst
    • Writers
      • Mette M. Bølstad(story)
      • Lars Saabye Christensen(story)
      • Dennis Magnusson(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Benjamin Helstad
      • Trond Nilssen
      • Stellan Skarsgård
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 27User reviews
    • 111Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 11 nominations

    Photos20

    Benjamin Helstad in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Trond Nilssen in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Stellan Skarsgård and Benjamin Helstad in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Kristoffer Joner, Trond Nilssen, Morten Løvstad, and Odin Gineson Brøderud in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Benjamin Helstad, Morten Løvstad, and Odin Gineson Brøderud in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Benjamin Helstad and Marius Holst in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Stellan Skarsgård and Benjamin Helstad in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Stellan Skarsgård and Benjamin Helstad in Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Kongen av Bastøy (2010)
    Kongen av Bastøy (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Benjamin Helstad
    Benjamin Helstad
    • Erlingas Erling…
    Trond Nilssen
    Trond Nilssen
    • Olavas Olav…
    Stellan Skarsgård
    Stellan Skarsgård
    • Bestyrer Håkonas Bestyrer Håkon
    Kristoffer Joner
    Kristoffer Joner
    • Husfar Bråthenas Husfar Bråthen
    Magnus Langlete
    • Ivaras Ivar…
    Morten Løvstad
    • Øysteinas Øystein
    • (as Morten Strøm)
    Daniel Berg
    • Johanas Johan
    Odin Gineson Brøderud
    • Axelas Axel
    Magnar Botten
    • Lilleguttas Lillegutt
    Markus Brustad
    • Janas Jan
    Agnar Jeger Holst
    • Arneas Arne
    Tommy Jakob Håland
    • Terjeas Terje
    Richard Safin
    • Eirikas Eirik
    Frank-Thomas Andersen
    • Gårdsgutt Bjarneas Gårdsgutt Bjarne
    • (as Frank-Thomas H. Andersen)
    Arne Brønstad
    • Husfar Kjellas Husfar Kjell
    Nils-Fredrik Tveter
    • Husfaras Husfar
    Martin Slaatto
    Martin Slaatto
    • Husfar Haraldas Husfar Harald
    Ellen Dorrit Petersen
    Ellen Dorrit Petersen
    • Bestyrerens koneas Bestyrerens kone
    • Director
      • Marius Holst
    • Writers
      • Mette M. Bølstad(story)
      • Lars Saabye Christensen(story)
      • Dennis Magnusson(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

    More like this

    Max Manus: Man of War
    7.3
    Max Manus: Man of War
    Uno
    6.8
    Uno
    Jo Nesbø's Headhunters
    7.5
    Jo Nesbø's Headhunters
    Kon-Tiki
    7.2
    Kon-Tiki
    En ganske snill mann
    6.9
    En ganske snill mann
    In Order of Disappearance
    7.2
    In Order of Disappearance
    The King's Choice
    7.1
    The King's Choice
    Nokas
    6.5
    Nokas
    Hawaii, Oslo
    7.0
    Hawaii, Oslo
    Kampen om tungtvannet
    8.0
    Kampen om tungtvannet
    Nobel
    8.1
    Nobel
    Den siste revejakta
    6.3
    Den siste revejakta

    Storyline

    Edit
    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? —JRN
    islandsexual abusenorwayphysical abusehorse and cart102 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Norway, 1915, a home for boys.
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Bastoy prison is still in operation today but is a minimum security institution.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Erling: I once saw a whale swim with three harpoons in it. It took the entire day to die. He was weak due to the harpoon I shot him with. And covered with scars from all the battles he had fought. I have become acquainted with one boy whom is soon to sign off. For the six years he has been on this ship, he has done everything right. And now, he is going home.

    • 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

    User reviews27

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    I cannot praise this movie enough!
    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.
    helpful•50
    5
    • kjetilsj
    • Dec 22, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 17, 2010 (Norway)
    • Countries of origin
      • Norway
      • France
      • Sweden
      • Poland
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • Norwegian
      • Swedish
    • Also known as
      • Flykten från Bastöy
    • Filming locations
      • Estonia
    • Production companies
      • 4 1/2 Film
      • MACT Productions
      • St Paul Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • NOK 54,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,615
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,039
      • Nov 20, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,360,391
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 56min
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Sf Studios Teams With ‘Project Z’ Director on Spanish Flu Horror Film (Exclusive)
    Sf Studios Teams With ‘Project Z’ Director on Spanish Flu Horror Film (Exclusive)
    May 20Variety Film + TV
    Oslo Destroyed in Norwegian Disaster Movie The Quake [Trailer]
    Nov 13QuietEarth.us

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Edit page
    • Getting started
    • Contributor Zone

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Shows Returning in 2021
    See the full list
    Image caption not available
    2:58
    6 Shows Everyone's Still Talking About
    Watch the video

    Around the web

    Powered by Taboola

    Recently viewed

    You have no recently viewed pages
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • IMDb TV
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2021 by IMDb.com, Inc.