INTO THE WHITE - 2012A very entertaining war film set in Norway during 1940. The Germans are advancing up the length of Norway defeating the Norwegian Army as it moves north. The British and French forces land troops and aircraft at Narvik to help the Norwegians. The Royal Navy puts a major dent in the supply of German destroyers. But the naval battle, and the Allied landings only slows the Germans down for a bit, and the Allies soon need to evacuate back to England. The film is about a small slice of the combat for Narvik.The crew of a Germen He-111 are forced to crash land in the mountains after sustaining combat damage. The three survivors set out in a blinding snowstorm looking for shelter. They stumble across a remote cabin and hole up. They are soon joined by a pair of British aircrew in the same boat.The Germans are played by, Florian Lukas, David Kross and Stig Henrik Hoff, while the two Brits are played by Lachlan Niboer and Rupert Grint. The Germans are first on the draw and the British are soon prisoners. After several days with the storm raging outside, it really does not matter who are the prisoners, they all are.There is only a small amount of food in the cabin and rationing is necessary from the start. Next the wood for the stove starts to run out. This makes it necessary to start ripping up the chairs, beds, floors and even the outdoors privy. Needless to say, there are several exchanges of who has the gun, and who is in charge.The snow finally abates and the men decide to use some of the old sets of skis found in the rafters and make for the coast. They agree that whoever forces they meet first, the others will surrender to.One of the Brits, along with one German, set off to scout for a route down. The two run into a Norwegian ski patrol. One of the Norwegians, armed with a scoped rifle, sees the German uniform on the one man. The German is of course shot dead. The patrol soon has the two Brits safe and the two surviving German collared.Everyone is soon hustled back to Navrik, and just in time too, as the Allies are about to pull out. The Germans will be spending the rest of the conflict on ice in a P.O.W. camp.The director was Norwegian, Petter Næss. His film work has been nominated worldwide for various awards, including an Oscar nod for a Best Foreign Film.Grint of course is well known for being in all the HARRY POTTER films. A very good film all in all.

"Into the White" is similar to an old Frank Sinatra film "None But the Brave". Both are set during WWII and both are about a small isolated group of soldiers from both sides MUST work together to survive. In the case of "None But the Brave", it was a fictional story about American and Japanese soldiers. Here with "Into the White", it's about two groups of fliers--one German and the other British. However, instead of taking place in the nice, warm Pacific, this film is set in the frozen wastes of Norway. When both planes are shot down, five airmen all converge on a hut--and there just isn't enough food and fuel to keep them alive unless they can figure out something.So, is this film worth seeing? For a guy like me who has taught history AND loves WWII airplane films, of course--I am the perfect audience. However, for the rest, it might be a tougher sell. But, if you let yourself watch the film and don't give up on it quickly because there isn't much action, I do think you'll appreciate and enjoy the film. Plus, it's a nice opportunity to see Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter films) in a VERY different role. All around, lovely acting, direction as well as a nice respect for real history. Based on what I've read, aside from inexplicably changing the names of the British fliers, it's a highly accurate representation of what really occurred--believe it or not!

INTO THE WHITE, also known as CROSS OF HONOR, is based on fact and in adapting the facts to the screen director Petter Næss along with co-writers Ole Meldgaard and Dave Mango have turned out a film that could easily have been a stage play, restricted for the most part as it is to the confines on one cabin. But then the vast beauty of the Norwegian landscape would have been sacrificed and it is that use of the bleak snow clad solitude that underlines the effects of isolation on the human response and survival under austere conditions.On April 27, 1940, while the Germans and the British were struggling to gain control of Norway's vast natural resource to aid their war efforts two enemy fighter planes were shot down over the tundra of Norway. We meet the German soldiers first - Lieutenant Horst Schopis (Florian Lukas), Feldwebel Wolfgang Strunk (Stig Henrik Hoff) and the wounded Unteroffizier Josef Schwartz (David Kross) as they struggle for survival, sleeping in snow caves and finally fining a deserted one room cabin where they settle in without much food and little comforts. Next we meet the British crew of the plane that crashed in the conflict with the Germans - Captain Charles P. Davenport (Lachlan Nieboer) and Gunner Robert Smith (Rupert Grint). The Brits find the German held cabin and join the Germans in a hostile relationship: there is a constant struggle of who is in charge, the Geneva convention rules of prisoners of war etc. But gradually the friction diminishes as the five men cope with finding food, warmth, and the care of Josef's arm, which has turned gangrenous. The facades of their military personalities fade into the unique personal needs of each and the result is an improbable friendship laced with angst, philosophy, humor, and mutual caring: in the end we are all equals and 'enemies' morph into caring friends.As the credits role at film's end we are informed of the fates of each of the five men. The story is solid, touching, humorous at times, and carries a strong message about what war does to men's minds and It is only when isolated from the 'badges of countries' that these unlikely men becomes bonded. A very strong film. Grady Harp

I had started the night out planning to watch some iconic war movies that I hadn't seen before, such as Saving Private Ryan or Braveheart (had seen it but its been so long I might as well not have). It was while looking at recommendations for one of these movies that I came across "Into The White." I don't know if it was poor marketing, low budget, or if it simply had no popularity but I had never heard of this movie and was even more astounded when I saw that Rupert Grint starred in it, considering I'm a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and enjoy watching the actors movies.When I read Grint had a part in it I found my interest piqued and began reading up on the plot line, which instantly sold me. I always love a movie about a group of strangers banding together to survive brutal elements. Add in that the strangers are WWII pilots on opposite sides of the war all stuck together in a small shack and I was immediately hooked. I quickly found the movie and settled down to enjoy the hour and something odd movie. I'll admit it started off slow and I almost turned it off when I found the characters to only speak German for a good 10 minutes or so, with no subtitles, but thanks to some other reviewers I learned that the film would eventually break into English.I'm extremely happy I persevered to watch this amazing film. Granted it wasn't the greatest thing I've seen in the world nor is it as tense and emotional as you would expect from reading the plot but its still a very solid movie. The environment is truly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. At times you could feel the harsh reality that surrounded the characters and it made me quiver at the thought of it. The cast did an exceptional job bringing their characters life, even Rupert who I thought I could never see outside the role of Ronald Weasely did a fantastic job portraying a somewhat loud mouthed but loyal gunner(a token to his acting ability). As the film moved along I felt myself loving and pushing for the characters more and more and felt elated when they were happy or tense when they were tense basically I was drawn in so well I ended up reflecting their emotions.I have to say the best performance by far, in my opinion, was by Florian Lukas who played Horst Schopis or basically the German leader in the shack. I felt his character was the center of the group throughout most of the film providing a calm and reasonable head when tense situations arose. Of course his character might of been too nice and kind to be realistic or maybe he was just smart enough to know that their was a time and place for arguing and a time for working together. I also felt the British acted a little too recklessly, arrogant and all together unintelligent at certain points that would make others keep their mouths shut ( those who watch the movie we'll see what I mean). Other then that though I have no complaints whatsoever about this film. The script was good by any standards, the scenery and directing was pretty top notch and the cast was brilliant you could easily feel the sense of bonding they began to share as characters and, I imagine, in the real world.All in all I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who doesn't mind sitting down and enjoying a good movie, pure and simple. Not a bunch of action, nothing too emotional or high strung just a feel good movie that promotes friendship, togetherness and coming to respect and care for others. I'd rate "Into the White" a solid 7 out of 10.