Christopher Nolan was inspired by the work of Erik Skjoldbjaerg when he made the remake of one of his movies called Insomnia. It is from then on that Erik got a household name in the US. He went on to make Prozac Nation and then disappeared for a little while. He has come back full circle in another heist drama called Nokas.
The footage is really sublime. It is certainly going to give us a whole new way of looking things in heist movies. Like my friend pointed out the Europeans do it better with lesser budgets. The movie looks better in some of the silences which are visible in the trailer. Here is a small synopsis of what to expect from this one.
In the morning of the 5th of April 2004, the greatest bank robbery in Norwegian history was carried out in Stavanger. Nokas is the story of this robbery, which took place at the central cash service in Stavanger. The film traces the development of the robbery from early morning on until the fatal shot that took police officer Klungland’s life. The story is credibly narrated through details in an everyday manner. Routines and daily activities at the police station and the cash service centre, the unaffected civilians at the Cathedral Square who politely ask the heavily armed robbers if they may pass with their pram, and the robbers who restlessly get dressed, take a leak, kid around, and wait for the great event. And when the robbery is carried out, it’s totally unreal for everyone. Even if it’s actually taking place.
The robbery itself is the main character of the story, and it is illuminated from several angles in the course of the film, from the perspective of the police, the robbers, the central cash service personnel, and ordinary people. It’s a credible and realistic, but fictitious reconstruction, the way it could have happened. The story is poetically and filmatically depicted, with sober use of various genre techniques.
The film is told in episodes and it has a very tricky narrative that will be bring the audiences back to this age old genre.
