Nine Lives (Ni liv)
Directed by Arne Skouen
Written by Arne Skouen from a book by David Howarth
1957/Norway
Nordsjofilm
First viewing/YouTube
[box] Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face. Dave Barry [/box]
This is a suspenseful true story about a resistance fighter’s escape from occupied Norway and the people who helped him.
Jan Baalsrud arrives in Norway by boat with a number of comrades to deliver supplies to resistance fighters in the north of the country. The Nazis are waiting for them and Jan becomes the only survivor. He flees with nothing save the clothes on his back and his gun.
Jan cannot survive without help but must make difficult decisions about who to trust. He survives brutal winter storms, gangrene and snow blindness, earning him the reputation of a man with nine lives.
This is quite a solid example of its genre. There are awesome shots of Saami (Lapps) herding reindeer through a blizzard!
Nine Lives was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
