King of Devil's Island

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King of Devil's Island

2010

1h 52m

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

48 Reviews

88%

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2,500+ Ratings

Inmates rebel at a Norwegian reform school for boys, where discipline is maintained through cruelty.

Critics Consensus

Scandinavian in the most bleakly satisfying way, King of Devil's Island satisfies with a richly layered narrative and a typically strong performance from Stellan Skarsgard.

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London Evening Standard

Based on a true story, there is a dramatic force here, even if the whole is a trifle long and repetitive.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 29, 2012

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Xan Brooks

Guardian

Robust acting and crisp direction eases the old-rope material through to the inevitable conflagration.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 28, 2012

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

beneath the staid, ordered, colour-dulled surfaces of Marius Holst's King of Devil's Island lurk various forms of hypocrisy, corruption and abuse, suggesting something very rotten in the (then) state of Norway.

Jun 28, 2012

Full Review

Brent McKnight

The Last Thing I See

Subtle, nuanced, and delicate.

Rated: B

Jul 11, 2020

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Grim and gripping in equal parts, this unapologetically dour Norwegian drama depicts a notorious sequence of events on the icy prison island of Bastoy in 1915.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 15, 2020

Full Review

Patrick Gamble

CineVue

An uncomfortably haunting journey to the breaking point of the human spirit, which, despite its few missteps along the will stay with you long after you leave the cinema.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 25, 2019

Full Review

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Audience Member

Some choices just didn't make sense in the last half of the movie. And the ending was like oh my God it's Titanic all over again. But it's totally worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Cool Hand Luke, Norwegian-style :-)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

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Audience Member

I'm surprised that Americans haven't remade this one for the non reading subtitles people.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Bleak, and ultimately unsatisfying.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

Watched this during the 2011 Calgary International Film Festival. This movie has a powerful plot, solid acting, and incredible imagery. It had me feeling a wide range of emotions throughout. It took me a few days to decide to add this movie to the roster schedule as I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch a movie with subtitles. I'm glad I went as I have never been so captivated watching a movie. I am only posting this review now as I was thinking about it and thought I'd like to see it on Netflix and couldn't remember the name. I had to go the the calgaryfilm website and look through the archives to find the name. Sadly, it is not on Netflix. If you ever have a chance to watch this movie, do so.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With a great narrative, and nice performances, King of Devil's Island is a must see drama for filmgoers.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Marius Holst

Director

Benjamin Helstad

Erling

Trond Nilssen

Olav

Stellan Skarsgård

Bestyrer Håkon

Kristoffer Joner

Husfar Bråthen

Magnus Langlete

Ivar

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Synopsis

Inmates rebel at a Norwegian reform school for boys, where discipline is maintained through cruelty.

Director: Marius Holst
Producer: Karin Julsrud
Screenwriter: Eric Schmid, Dennis Magnusson, Lars Saabye Christensen, Mette Marit Bølstad
Production Co: Opus Film, 4 1/2 Film, St Paul Film, MACT Productions
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: Norwegian
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.2K
Runtime: 1h 52m

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