King of Devil’s Island (2011)
92%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: NA
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.
King of Devil’s Island is a movie that will make you feel like you need a hug after watching it. It’s a bleak and haunting journey that will leave you feeling like you’ve been through the wringer. But don’t let that deter you from watching it! The acting is outstanding, and the direction is crisp. It’s a slow-burning drama that will keep you hooked until the very end. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby.
Production Company(ies)
Asghar Farhadi Productions, Dreamlab Films, MPAAPSA Academy Film Fund,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Estonia
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Norwegian, Swedish
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Country of origin:France, Norway, Poland
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Jul 18, 2014
Genre(s)
History/Drama
Keyword(s)
King of Devil’s Island, History, Drama, Norwegian, Marius Holst, Karin Julsrud, Eric Schmid, Dennis Magnusson, Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Kimmo Rajala, Benjamin Helstad, Trond Nilssen, box office, budget, reviewed by Xan Brooks, Anton Bitel, David Hughes, Tom Huddleston, Radheyan Simonpillai, Liam Lacey, Brent McKnight, Leigh Paatsch, Patrick Gamble, Sarah Gopaul, Graham Young, Allan Hunter, MPAA rating, rebellion, cruelty, reform school, bleak, layered narrative, strong performance, Scandinavian, hypocrisy, corruption, abuse, grim, gripping, dour, outstanding dramatic performances, slow-burning, satisfying drama, Scum, Papillon
Worldwide gross: $4,360,391
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,927,457
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,122
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 646,397
US/Canada gross: $7,615
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,352
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,820
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,039
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,412
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,856
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NOK 54,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kristoffer Joner – Husfar
Ellen Dorrit Petersen – Astrid
Kimmo Rajala – Policeman
Benjamin Helstad – Erling, C-19
Trond Nilssen – Olav:C-1
Director(s)
Marius Holst
Writer(s)
Eric Schmid, Dennis Magnusson
Producer(s)
Karin Julsrud
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (3)
Robust acting and crisp direction eases the old-rope material through to the inevitable conflagration.
June 28, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Xan Brooks
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
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.
June 28, 2012
Anton Bitel
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
A bleakly beautiful, austere film that doesn’t patronise its audience.
June 27, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
David Hughes
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Rather one-note in its bleakness, and doesn’t have a vast amount to say beyond ‘reform school sucks’.
June 26, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Tom Huddleston
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
March 16, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Radheyan Simonpillai
NOW Toronto
TOP CRITIC
Possibly no one else does “grim” with as much unsparing enthusiasm as the Scandinavians.
March 16, 2012 | Rating: 3/4
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Subtle, nuanced, and delicate.
July 11, 2020 | Rating: B
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
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.
April 15, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
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.
January 25, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Patrick Gamble
CineVue
Helstad and Nilssen deliver outstanding dramatic performances.
August 23, 2018
Sarah Gopaul
Digital Journal
It’s a very measured account of how men will accept their fates to a degree, slowly coil up and then spring with anger.
August 2, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Graham Young
Birmingham Post
A slow-burning but satisfying drama that persuasively blends elements of Scum and Papillon.
July 17, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Allan Hunter
The List…
Plot
Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the island Bastoy, located in the Oslo fjord live a group of delinquent, young boys aged 11 to 18. The boys daily, sadistic regime is run by the guards and the principal who bestow both mental and physical abuse on them. Instead of the boys being straightened out with education they end up being used as cheap, manual labor. The boys attempt to survive by adapting to their inhumane conditions. One day a new boy, Erling (17), arrives with his own agenda; how to escape from the island. How far is he willing to go in order to get his freedom?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Stellan Skarsgard delivers a typically strong performance in King of Devil’s Island.
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