Movie Reviews

Based on an idea by acclaimed writer Jo Nesbø, Okkupert (Occupied) deals with Norway being invaded by the Russian army with support from the European Union. This following the decision by the newly appointed prime minister to stop production of oil and gas in order to prevent further damage to our climate.

After giving a speech about how Norway won’t give in to Europe’s demands to restart production of fossil fuels, prime minister Jesper Berg (Henrik Mestad) is kidnapped and then released after being kindly informed that the Russians will be present in Norway to oversee that everything returns to how it was. It’s a so called ‘silk-glove’ invasion where there is no real war. The Norwegians get to keep their wealth and way of life as well as their sense of personal freedom. Yet this doesn’t stop some of Norway’s population to stand up for themselves by forming small resistance factions.

Throughout ten episodes, we get to follow a handful of people and see how they cope with the invasion. The show is rather fast-paced and it’s not hard to see why Occupied is Norway’s most expensive TV show to date. Everything looks beautiful and comes with plenty of action to keep you interested while raising some thought-provoking ideas along the way. Later episodes are less realistic than I was hoping for, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy watching Occupied right up until the end.