Movie Review: ‘The 12th Man’

Review by Bradley Smith

Set in Norway during World War II, with Nazis occupying the country, The 12th Man tells the harrowing true story about a lone resistance fighter, struggling to survive after a failed attempt of sabotage, during which 11 other resistance fighters were killed. Thanks to his strength and the bravery of many others, he overcomes the obstacles (including freezing weather, an avalanche, and a manhunt led by an unrelenting Nazi) and finds his way to safety. As this thriller acknowledges right upfront: “The most incredible events in this story are the ones that actually took place.”

Jan Baalsrud (Thomas Gullestad) spent about two months on the brink of death after his failed attempt at sabotage against the Nazis occupying Norway. Jan would want the world to know that the true heroes of his story are the men and women that risked their lives to help him along the way. Farmers hide him in hay, fishermen carry him, reindeer drag him, and he later admits that the worst part is not knowing if the people who helped him got in trouble or killed for helping him.

If just about anyone else was in Jan’s boot (he lost one early on), we’d probably have no movie to discuss. I can say with almost 100% certainty that I’d have been killed in about five seconds. Then there’s the harsh arctic weather that he had to travel through and the overkill of Nazis searching for him despite many believing he couldn’t have survived the frozen river that they saw him enter. If not for the assurance in the opening titles, I would guess that a large chunk of this film was dramatized for effect.

And it is effective, either way. Watching Jan struggle for his survival for about 2 hours is both tense and inspiring. To add to the drama, they cut back to the man in charge of the manhunt, Kurt Stage (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who is determined to not sully his perfect record by finding at least the dead body of the lone saboteur. The depths he will go to in order to catch Jan is literally chilling.

The only downside, not for me but for practically everyone that I converse with regarding films, is the subtitles. This story is worth the extra effort, but the beautiful snowy scenery sometimes blends with the subtitles.