PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF NORWAY

In April 1940, King Haakon VII is faced with a terrible choice: turn his country over to the approaching Nazi war machine or resist, embroiling Norway in a battle they couldn’t possibly win.

The King’s Choice, directed by documentarian Erik Poppe, and starring Jesper Christensen as the titular monarch, tells the story of possibly the most important three days in Norway’s modern history. As Haakon withdraws from the occupied capital of Oslo, he is pursued by Curt Bräuer (Markovics), a German diplomat with express instructions from Hitler himself to negotiate the surrender of Norway.

Films set during World War II tend to be loud, unsubtle affairs, full of bombastic heroism and noble sacrifice. The King’s Choice prefers a more restrained, refined and political approach, where tense debate and diplomatic finesse are the weapons of choice. Poppe’s documentarian style flows through this film, providing an almost candid portrait of a nation’s defining moment and a glimpse of the mettle required to make decisions that forge the future of a people.