Strictly Confidential

Norwegian filmmaker Benedicte Orvung makes a horrific discovery about her past: facing the shame of a hidden history with the revelation that one of her family members was a prominent Nazi collaborator.  Karl Marthinsen, a brutal police leader, fanatic nationalist, and great uncle of the film's director, is the subject of this personal document of familial healing. Along the way, the audience gets a glimpse of one of the more destructive forces of World War II, learning about the pain thousands of Scandinavian families suffered and continue to cope with decades later.   

Contrasted to tales of clandestine heroism, as in last year’s Max Manus, this documentary, which reads like an underground WWII spy story, is a unique and virtually unheard of tale from a war that's the subject of countless films.  The film, building up to Germany’s occupation of Norway in l940 and after, is a journey that's personal and demanding for both its filmmaker and the audience. (Göteborg International Film Festival citation)

Print Source: Norwegian Film Institute, knut.skinnarmo@nfi.no