Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Bene Cumb I had heard about this series, its ratings and controversies, but I postponed watching due to my own misunderstanding - namely, I thought it was a real occupation-annexation thing, something like Red Dawn or Tomorrow, When the War Began. To my liking, it was not so, and I started to follow the series with interest and sympathy. Well, the benchmark is not too plausible; true, the U.S. has expressed its hesitations regarding NATO ja the EU and Russia has had some agreements on some global issues, but I am sure that particulary other Nordic and Baltic EU members would never allow the EU to become "nasty" against Norway, particularly through advancing Russian interests and moves in the area... But anyhow, based on this benchmark, the subsequent events, changes in minds and attitudes, etc., seem realistic, incl. Russia´s possible actions (it has used its influence-creating without direct military invention several times in actuality); following the different events and actions, one starts to ponder on and over what he or she would do in similar situatons. What would-should be the role of Armed Forces? When are killings justified? What is the different between terrorists and freedom fighters? Etc. The cast is also more than good, generally female ones in supporting roles (Dapkunaite, Gudbrandsen, Torp, Heltberg). The selection of those depicting Russians could have selected more throroughly - some of them speak horrible Russian. All in all, a catchy and bright-line series; it is odd that the EU agreed to finance this as well. Recommended, unless you are strongly pro-Putin and/or have far-left views.

artur-artborg Last year, Norwegian television cave us "Mammon", an unusual series with interesting themes, well-written scripts and good actors (and a somewhat disappointing ending, but what're you gonna do). As such, I looked forward to watching another thrilling series.Instead, I got "Okkupert".The first two episodes of the series are confusing, boring and disappointing. They are also the greatest episodes of the series.While I wouldn't go so far as to call this series straight-up bad (I'm giving it a 5 out of 10, after all) I still wouldn't recommend it to anyone anywhere. Neither writing, direction, editing, music or acting truly works, and some scenes are almost laughable.While it felt as though "Mammon" took inspiration from the terrific Danish series we've gotten recently ("Forbrydelsen", "Borgen" and "Arvingerne" just to name a few), "Okkupert" felt inspired by Sweden. This is not a good thing.I forced myself to finish the entire first season. I will not return for a second.

B24 Having read as a boy Steinbeck's under-appreciated novel The Moon Is Down about Norway occupied by Germans for the entire 1940-1945 period, I am always fascinated by newer incarnations of that terrible time. Make no mistake: this TV series "Occupied" strives for the same contrast between patriotism and pragmatism that characterized life in Norway under Quisling, an uneasy military occupation depending on good compromised by evil and vice versa. It is an important narrative only in that sense. The plot is otherwise a mixed bag of tantalizing suspense and odd threads that go absolutely nowhere. In the first place, the premise is absurd. Oil and gas as sources of energy are offset in the real world by increasing natural-based modes of generation. The idea of some new factory using a process similar to nuclear fission saving the world from climate change is pointless.I think the intended audience for the series must be solely Norwegian. It surely will not appeal to EU citizens, nor will it carry much weight in the English-speaking world in spite of having many scenes carried forward in that language. And Russians are xenophobic enough without thrusting this in their faces. Not that its cast is lacking in looks or talent; whatever value the story has rests on their shoulders. Nor is technique or cinematic quality in question. It is a beautifully filmed rendering of a beautiful country.My advice: trim it down to a feature-length film. Tighten up the plot and make it relate to actual political possibilities rather than hypothetical and nonsensical ones.

Critical Eye UK How on earth $11 million came to be spent on this ludicrous rubbish is something only the Norwegians can explain. Apparently an original idea dreamt up by a leading Norwegian fiction writer, 'Occupied' is about how Norway is led by a half-wit Prime Minister who struggles almost single-handedly against "the EU" which, it seems, has decided that Norway should be taken over by, er, Russia.Words. . . fail. Fail so much that it's probably a waste of breath to even point out that back on April 4, 1949, Norway was one of the founding partners of NATO, along with the USA, the UK, Canada, France, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and (bizarrely) Iceland.As a NATO partner, pledged to the defence of the sovereignty of its fellow partners -- of whom there are now considerably more than the original founders -- Norway is an active member whose participation in the organisation has consistently marked it out as a lead nation.According to 'Occupied', however. . . it isn't. It's a chunk of land Somewhere Up North whose fortunes are to be decided by something called 'the EU', an organisation which has no power in international defense and strategic alliances. Even its Prime Minister doesn't know about NATO.That anyone could even embark on a TV series 100% devoid of credibility beggars belief, the sheer witlessness of the concept mitigating against just about every word of dialog and every episode plot line. Evidently, the awful reality of just how profound a mess 'Occupied' truly is dawned on one of the original financial backers of the project; it ran for the hills and left the budget with a large hole that couldn't be filled until some new investors came along who've evidently never heard of NATO either. The embarrassment of it all also led one of the show's principal producers to issue a rambling statement to the effect that ah, well, no, it's not meant to be realistic, it's just, er, stuff about Norway and Norwegians. It's absolutely not about Russia invading anyone or about international politics or even about. . . reality.Russia rightly complained about the show when it first aired but has since ceased to bother, as aware as everyone else is of how utterly fatuous 'Occupied' truly is. Significantly, neither the BBC nor any commercial company in the UK picked up 'Occupied', leaving it instead to satellite TV to so ill-advisedly fork out for the rights. I look forward to the next 'original idea' from the creators of this daft folly, perhaps a story of how the USA is re-claimed by the UK and the Pentagon can do nothing against the arrival in Boston Harbor of 300 tea drinking British Redcoats armed with muskets and a couple of cannons. Now, there's plausibility for you -- Norwegian-style, of course. Verdict: unwatchable.