King of Devil’s Island-Kongen av Bastøy (2011)

Directed by: Marius Holst | 112 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner, Trond Nilssen, Morten Løvstad, Daniel Berg, Odin Gineson Brøderud, Magnar Botten, Magnus Langlete, Markus, Agnar Jeger Holst, Tommy Jakob Håland, Richard Safin, Frank-Thomas Andersen, Martin Slaatto

‘King of Devil’s Island’ is a very strong film about juvenile delinquents between the ages of eleven and eighteen, who are serving their sentences in a prison with a strict regime at the beginning of the twentieth century on the island of Bastoy in the Oslofjord. The natural boundaries make an escape almost impossible. A number of guards and the director create a misrule. Abuse, pedophilia and brainwashing are the order of the day.

In fact, ‘King of Devil’s Island’ is a movie about the old re-education camps. By subjecting young people to the strictest possible regime, they will eventually ‘see the light’, become a good Christian and afterwards be ready to participate in society again. The fact that in many cases only the opposite was achieved was mostly concealed, but is presented well in this film. Director Marius Holst also highlights the choices you have to make as a youngster. Do you dare to take a stand against authority or do you choose eggs for your money and the easier way not to get it even harder than you already have it?

After arriving on the island, Erling (Benjamin Helstad) is soon convinced that he will never be able to get used to it. He will therefore do everything in his power to escape. His brutal behavior ensures that not only himself but also his fellow inmates have an increasingly hard time. An uprising or mutiny seems imminent…

Despite the fact that ‘King of Devil’s Island’ tells a not too innovative story about a group captive with only a song as a name that rebels against the strict regime, the film quickly makes an impression. This is due to the strong build-up, as well as the excellent performing young actors, flanked by a very strong Stellan Skarsgård (‘Melancholia’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’). The opening alone makes you long for the rest of the film. Beautiful images of a whale hunt set a somewhat disturbing tone. After this, ‘King of Devil’s Island’ only gets grittier. The young offenders have to endure many humiliations that drive even a few to the last choice, suicide.

The build-up may be a bit slow, but the advantage is that the actual uprising has much more impact on the viewer, because the different characters are well introduced and you realize that their criminal activities (which do not appear anywhere in the film) can never get any worse. are then the actions of the guards and director of the natural prison that is Bastoy.
With ‘King of Devil’s Island’, director Marius Holst delivers an extremely impressive film that is carried by young actors and continues to gnaw at your conscience for the entire duration of the film. Certainly not light fare, but ‘King of Devil’s Island’ definitely knows how to feed the movie-loving soul.