If you had told me I would be watching a subtitled Norwegian film, I would have told you to, "Go ahead and pull the other leg". But a long weekend was in front of me and I wanted to rent a few movies to enjoy some moments of escapism. So when I saw the title, "Escape" I was drawn to it. After reading the short description, in which it did NOT mention it was either NORWEGIAN or SUBTITLED, I decided to rent it. I found out about the Norwegian when writing came on the screen to explain the set up for the story. While I was having an "Oh no. What's this?" moment on the inside, I instinctively was reading the translation on the outside: " 1638 Norway; black plague has killed half the population; lawlessness and hardship covers the land; a few people risk the danger to wander in the hope of finding new lives and new hope." I was hooked. It takes only another few minutes for the action to begin. Like those nightmares we all get where something big and horrible is trying to catch us and we feel too small and weak to defend ourselves, this appears to be your typical "Chase" movie. Just like the Terminator. At the heart, it is the story of two young girls running through the bleak, barren and beautiful landscape to escape from a gang of ruthless killers, led by a bleak, barren and beautiful woman. But beyond that it departs from usual "chase" territory when the story gradually reveals the reasons behind what's going on. As we learn about the characters histories and motivations of hate, love, selfishness and pain, which are believably brought to life by the sincere and fierce acting of this cast (especially the main actors: Isabel Christine Andreasen, Milla Olin and Ingrid Bolso Berdal) we can't help but ask the deeper question: "whom" is truly escaping "what"? So unlike other "Chase" films, you will want to leave your brain powered ON for this one. It takes a lot for me to give a movie 9 stars out of 10. My main criteria is two fold. 1) Is there anything about this movie I would change or fix? and 2) Was I lost in the story? The Answers: 1) I could find nothing I personally would change and 2) I was definitely "captured" by this story and did NOT want to "escape". Laura-Lee
Review of Escape
