The 12th Man

Released 25th December 2017, 12th Man follows the sole survivor of a Norwegian anti-Nazi mission as he attempts to escape to Sweden, a neutral country. For a film based on true events, the narrative flows really well while feeling like a natural progression of Jan Baalstrud’s incredible story. Baalstrud’s tale and the events surrounding it speak volumes of human survival, hope and inspiration; the film never fails to convey how meaningful Baalstrud’s trials and tribulations are to the oppressed Norwegians. 12th Man is also able to balance a laid back sense of humour with the harrowing events that are conveyed through grotesque imagery and sinister characters.

On the Nazi side of the story, Johnathon Rhys-Meyers and Martin Kiefer are great as Kurt Stage and Walther Wenders; Kiefer does a good enough job at connoting Wenders’ low effort and laissez-faire attitude towards his task while Rhys-Meyers gives a truly chilling performance as Stage. Rhys-Meyers provides blazing eye-contact and sustaining physical tension in every scene he is in; Stage is a Nazi in every sense of the word and Rhys-Meyers illustrates this to perfection. Thomas Gullestad delivers an equally brilliant performance of Jan Baalstrud, the 12th man of the title. Gullestad is able to portray every emotion you could fathom in Baalstrud’s circumstance (and more) while also managing to hold onto his wavering humanity across the narrative.

There is a large supporting cast who, whilst not overtly deep and complex, everyone Baalstrud meets attains a sense of hope and inspiration from his perseverance against everything that has pushed him down. The camera work of the Norwegian setting is truly amazing and is sufficient in conveying how far Baalstrud must travel for his freedom; in the same vain the visual effects are grotesque in their realism and serve to further ground the story with an aura of suffering and pain. While nothing memorable, Christophe Beck’s soundtrack serves its scenes well enough and can’t be faulted for that. 12th Man is ultimately a testament to Norwegian morale in a time of unfathomable crisis and a subsequent display of human capabilities in crisis as a whole, all while being able to tell a true story.