The King of Devil's Island (2010)

The King of Devil’s Island is the English title of a Norwegian historical drama set in 1915 (based on a true story or inspired by real events). It is the story about a home for “difficult” boys on the island of Bastøy, located about halfway between Horten and Moss, ca 75 km south of Oslo. Here is some basic information about this drama which premiered in 2010:

** Original Norwegian title: Kongen av Bastøy

** Director: Marius Holst

** Writers: Mette M. Bølstad, Lars Saaby Christensen, Dennis Magnusson & Eric Schmid

** Soundtrack: Norwegian

** Subtitles: English

** Released on DVD in 2012

** Available on Amazon Prime Video

** Run time: 116 minutes

The cast can be divided into two groups:

# 1. THE ADULTS

** Stellan Skarsgård as Håkon – the director of the home

** Ellen Dorrit Petersen as Astrid – Håkon’s wife

** Kristoffer Joner as Bråthen – dorm master

** Arne Brøndsted as Kjell – dorm master

** Martin Slaatto as Harald – dorm master

** Kirsti Asskildt as the nurse

** Ragnhild Vannebo as the leader of the inspection committee

** Frank-Thomas H. Andersen as Bjarne – a handyman

# 2. THE BOYS

** Benjamin Helstad as Erling – C-19

** Trond Nilssen as Olav – C-1

** Magnus Langlete as Ivar – C-5

** Daniel Berg as Johan

** Odin Gineson Brøderud as Axel

** Markus Brustad as Jan

** Morten Strøm as Øystein

** Agnar Jeger Holst as Arne

Since this drama is based on a true story or inspired by real events, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I feel free to mention some of them in this review.

While this drama is based on a true story or inspired by real events, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown in this drama. But the basic story is true. There was a home for “difficult” boys on Bastøy and there was an uprising in 1915.

Here is some background information:

The Bastøy home for “difficult” boys was established in 1900. In 1953 it was given a new name. It was closed down in 1970. The youngest boys were 8; the oldest boys were 18. At any given time, there were ca 100 boys placed in this home.

The inmates were divided into five groups, with each group consisting of ca 20 boys. Each group had its own dorm. The dorms were named by the first five letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D and E.

The boys had to wear a uniform and when the staff talked to them, they did not use their names. Instead each boy was given a letter and a number. The letter marked the dorm. The number his place in the dorm. In this drama, the focus is on three boys:

** Olav, who is C-1

** Ivar, who is C-5

** Erling, who is C-19

During the day, the boys had to work in the field or in the forest. Some boys worked in the laundry, while others worked in the kitchen. The latter job was considered the most attractive, because it meant that you would have a chance of getting some extra food. There was also a school, but it seems the school had a low priority in the institution.

Discipline was strict. Very strict. The Norwegian authorities believed that hard physical work and corporal punishment would turn these boys into good Christian citizens, and the staff did what they could to follow the rules and regulations.

In this drama, we follow the lives of the boys who are placed in this institution in the year 1915. It is called a home for boys, but is feels like a prison. The boys are not placed in cells - unless they get a special punishment - but since they are on an island, it is almost impossible to escape. If you try to escape, you will not get far. Even if you manage to cross the open water and reach the mainland, you will soon be caught. That is why Bastøy has been compared to the infamous French prison called Devil’s Island.

What do reviewers say about this historical drama? Here are the results of two movie aggregators:

** 75 per cent = IMDb

** 88 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes – the audience

** 93 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes – the critics

As you can see, the average ratings are quite good. I understand the positive reviews (even though I cannot agree with them). The topic is important. The story deserves to be told. I want to like this drama and give it a good rating, but I cannot agree with the high ratings, because this drama has flaws, and some of them are quite serious. Let me explain:

# 1. The story is set on the Norwegian island of Bastøy, but the drama is filmed in Estonia. The characters are Norwegian, but the most famous actor (Stellan Skarsgård) is from Sweden!

# 2. The story is set in 1915, because there was a dramatic uprising in that year. The uprising took place in May 1915, i.e. in the spring; but in the movie, the uprising takes place in the winter. There is a lot of snow, and the water between the island and the mainland is frozen to ice. The chronology of the uprising has been changed.

# 3. During the uprising, the boys cut the telephone line to the mainland, so the staff was unable to contact the authorities on the mainland. But in the drama, there is a scene where two boys are sitting in the director’s office and suddenly the phone rings. Someone is calling to find out what is going on. Erling says he wants to talk to the King of Norway. He says he is the King of Bastøy! Hence the Norwegian title of the movie.

Since the boys had cut the telephone line to the mainland, nobody could call the director’s office. The movie-makers have ignored this historical fact. Why? Perhaps because they wanted Erling to have this conversation where he calls himself the King of Bastøy.

# 4. How does the uprising start? What is the event that triggers the uprising? In the drama, we see one version. As far as I know, it happened in a different way.

The movie-makers have changed basic historical facts. They do not follow the true story as closely as possible. They claim the drama is based on a true story. But basic facts have been changed. Therefore I think it better to say that it is inspired by real events.

# 5. The characters in the drama are one-dimensional or simply anonymous. We know almost nothing about them. Even the main characters are hardly developed in any way.

The director’s name is Håkon, but his name is never mentioned! I only know this, because it appears in the credit rolls at the end of the drama. The name of the director’s wife is Astrid, but her name is never mentioned either! Once again, I only know this, because it appears in the credit rolls at the end of the drama.

Håkon and Astrid do not even have a last name! Obviously, they do not get along well, but we do not know what is wrong. One day, there is a visit from an inspection committee. When the inspection is over and the members of the committee board the boat back to the mainland, Astrid joins them. Her husband Håkon seems surprised, but he does not say anything. Why does Astrid suddenly leave the island? This is never explained.

As for dorm master Bråthen, we are told that he has been on the island for nine years. Otherwise, we know nothing about him. He is simply a bad guy. A sadist who likes to terrorize the boys.

Bjarne is a handyman. In one scene, the boys ask for his help, saying: “You are one of us.” Apparently, Bjarne was an inmate on Bastøy while he was a boy. Now he is an adult who works at the institution where he was placed as a boy, so he should understand what the boys are going through. But Bjarne only appears briefly. Is this character based on a real person or merely a product of the director’s vivid imagination?

What about the boys? The drama focuses on three of them: Erling, Olav and Ivar. But even these three main characters remain a mystery to the viewer. Who are they? Where do they come from? Many other boys appear in the drama, but we know nothing about them. It is difficult to know who is who because their names are almost never used.

The film runs for almost two hours. There is plenty of time to develop the characters, at least the main characters. But this is not done. Instead the movie-makers waste a lot of time with scenes in which the boys are working in the field or in the forest.

# 6. In 1907, a former teacher at the home published an account about the hard life on Bastøy. The title of the book is Under the Law. The name of the author is listed as Mikael Stolpe. It is a pseudonym. His real name is Bjørn Evje. It seems he was afraid to use his real name. This book caused a public debate in Norway. As a result of this, the authorities decided that an inspection committee should visit the home from time to time.

One of these visits takes place in the drama. The members of the committee are supposed to ensure that the boys are treated well. But it seems they see everything from the adult perspective. They do not realize that the boys are so terrorized by the staff that they are afraid to tell the truth. This is a common problem when an inspection committee has to inspect institutions for children or prisons.

The drama is set in 1915, i.e. eight years after the book was published. But it is never mentioned. Why not? The public debate about this book is never mentioned. Why not? A missed opportunity.

# 7. The uprising of 1915 caused a public debate in Norway. In the drama there is nothing about this debate. Why not? Another missed opportunity.

As stated above, the topic is important. The story deserves to be told. But in this drama it is not told very well. Historical truth has been violated in several ways. Significant historical facts have been changed. The main characters are one-dimensional or simply anonymous.

As you can see, this drama has flaws, and some of them are quite serious. I have to remove two stars because of these flaws. Therefore I think this product deserves a rating of three stars.

PS # 1. For more information, see the following book: Djeveløye i Oslofjorden: Historien om Bastøy og andre straffeanstalter for slemme gutter by Yngvar Ustvedt (2000). Unfortunately, this book is only available in Norwegian.

PS # 2. The following (Norwegian) articles are available online:

** Svein Bugge, "En Bastøy-gutt forteller," Borreminne, 1995

** Svein Bugge, "Bastøy skolehjem," Borremine, 1996

PS # 3. The following historical movies deal with the same topic in different countries in different decades:

** Abandoned (2001) – set in Hungary in 1960

** The Magdalene Sisters (2002) – set in Ireland in the 1960s

** Song for a Raggy Boy (2003) – set in Ireland in 1939

** Und alle haben geschwiegen (2012) - set in West Germany in the 1950s. This movie is based on the book Schläge im Namen des Herrn by the German reporter Wensierski (2006, 2007)

** The Day Will Come (2016) – set in Denmark in the 1960s

PS # 4. Today there is a prison on Bastøy. It is a low-security prison where the staff is working to rehabilitate the inmates and prepare them to return to society after they have served their time. Some observers have stated that the inmates in this prison are treated too well! If you google “Bastøy,” you can find more information about the prison on this island. Some of this information is in English.

*****