Max Manus: Man of War

“My country was stolen from me and I want it back.” – Max Manus

For nearly six decades, World War II movies have formed an important part of American and European cinema. If we consider the last two decades, barring Steven Spielberg’s two masterpieces, “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) and “Schindler’s List” (1993), and Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” (1998), Hollywood has scaled back in producing war movies. Yes, once in a while, we see war movies released from Hollywood, but in terms of quality, they are pretty soon forgotten. Insipid affairs like “Pearl Harbor” (2001), “Windtalkers” (2002), “Enemy at the Gates” (2001), and “Hart’s War” (2002) ensured that the war genre in Hollywood receives little attention from prospective producers.

Surprisingly, during the same time, European cinema produced a few quality films: “Life is Beautiful” (1997), “Downfall” (2004), “Days of Glory” (2006), “Black Book” (2006), “Katyñ” (2007), and the list goes on. But in 2008, two war movies were released: a Danish production, “Flame & Citron” and a Norwegian production, “Max Manus: Man of War.” Considering the number of films released in Norway and Denmark, both the films became the most-expensive films in their countries. It was a sign that war movies were no longer produced in the bigger economies like France, UK, Germany, Italy, and Russia. More important, these two films told stories of Resistance movements against the Nazis that rarely received any attention among filmmakers outside their countries.

“Max Manus: Man of War” is a biopic on a Resistance Movement leader, Max Manus (Askel Hennie), who single-handedly drove the Nazis out of Norway. The film solely focuses on Manus and his planned operations against the Nazis. The movie opens up with a battle on snowy mountains in which Max Manus is seen fighting against the German forces. But we quickly learn that it is Manus’s vision, and the narrative interweaves between Max’s past and his current condition at a hospital. Working with cunning precision at all times, Manus’s strikes against the Nazis were highly effective.

A revolutionary for one party is seen as a terrorist for the other party; the Nazis called him a terrorist. After undergoing military training at Scotland Yard, Manus operated with the mind-set of a revolutionary fighter. As a fighter, he was willing to take up arms for his country, in spite of the risks involved. Manus quickly mobilized a group of young fighters for his missions, and a few fighters would go on to become close friends with Manus. His ability to infiltrate secure locations made him a national hero. And Norwegian leaders began to believe that they could topple the German regime in Norway.

The film displays Manus’s abilities, and Hennie gives a believable performance as Max Manus.  Hennie is intense and deeply focused in depicting the real life image of Manus.  The script, while digging deeper in presenting Manus’s operational style, also lays emphasis on events that shaped Manus’s personality. Like a true soldier, Manus was always worried about his men. After several successes against the Nazis, Manus still felt like a hollow man. He lost a number of men in the War, and his victory was a bitter reminder on the cost of the War. There is an intense scene in the climax in which Hennie perfectly portrays a mourning soldier who grieves at the loss of his friends. His grieving soul is laid in front of us, and we see Manus’s vulnerability, which, in fact, is a mark of a true leader.

The movie’s opening segment might give the impression of a nonlinear narrative, but as the film progresses, “Max Manus” has a straightforward narrative. In the process, the script takes no risk in developing the plot and its characters. Just as with other war movies, “Max Manus” functions in three stages: understanding the enemy, strategizing the moves, and executing the final move. At each stage, we have new characters enter the plot, and we see new battles, each devised in a thoughtful manner. This keeps the story line fairly entertaining, and the film marches at a rapid pace. In terms of production values, “Max Manus” is a beauty to behold. Instead of designing the sets from the ground up, the filmmakers redesigned the city blocks in Oslo. Buildings, costumes, and automobiles are intricately designed and successfully recreate the ‘40s. Indeed, the set design also enables the movie to convincingly portray the catastrophic nature of the War.

The film shows more than enough insights on Max Manus’s personality as a freedom fighter. However, the scripts fails in presenting any small, personal stories in Manus’s life or with his friends who are responsible for shaping his character early on. The story only deals with the War, and this simply lessens the overall emotional impact; it’s something you won’t remember for a long time. Despite this, “Max Manus: Man of War” is not a run-of-the-mill war movie; it has several exciting sequences to make it a unique viewing experience.

Video:

Music Box presents “Max Manus” in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded using an MPEG-4/AVC codec. I have to say Music Box’s Blu-rays are getting better with each release. “Mesrine” and “Anton Chekhov’s The Duel” were really good releases, but in terms of A/V qualities, “Max Manus” is Music Box’s best offering so far. The clarity of the 1080p is simply outstanding. This is evident in the war scenes, where whites dominate the palette; the ‘40s cityscapes are absolutely lively in the 1080p. The set design breathes new life in the HD; the sharpness and detail are extraordinarily solid. The palette has a gritty feel to it, with a nice touch of grain that makes this a film-like transfer.  The close-ups of faces are natural, with realistic skin tones. A few night shots appear, and the transfer performs extremely well with solid blacks and perfect contrast. Finally, the picturesque Norwegian and Scottish landscapes are gorgeous, with vibrant natural colors. In the end, I cannot find any fault with this transfer.

Audio:

Music Box offers a lossless 5.1 Norwegian DTS-HD Master Audio track. The film opens up with a battle, and the sounds produced by this track realistically recreate an actual battle. The gunshots are loud and thunderous, and you can hear every sound, as the bullets leaves the guns.  The lossless track is put to good use in several enthralling action sequences; you are taken right to the heart of the action. Likewise, the bass is heavy but never overly loud; you can hear low-frequency sounds clearly. The dialogue also benefits in the lossless track with its clarity. Just as with the 1080p, the audio track included here is simply flawless.  In addition, the movie can be viewed with English subtitles.

Extras:

There are not many bonus features included for this release. Mainly, we get a long featurette on the man himself, “Max Manus: Film and Reality.” This is an interesting documentary in which we see Max Manus presenting his thoughts on the Resistance movement in Norway. The feature then takes us to the actual video footage from the ‘40s. In between, we see glimpses of the cast and crew on the sets. Following this, we get a theatrical trailer of the movie.

Parting Thoughts:

There is something to be learned from “Max Manus: Man of War,” since it brings us the story of a man in a small European country, Norway. We rarely hear the heroics from this part of the world. Lavishly produced and superbly acted, “Max Manus: Man of War” is a thrill-a-minute ride that is fairly engrossing and entertaining. Assisted by slick editing techniques and a focused script, the film soars at all levels. This is a marvelous-looking Blu-ray release, highly recommended for fans of the war genre.