The reason Daniel (Samson Steine) and younger sister Sarah (Bianca Ghilardi-Hellsten) are seeking shelter in the home of Gerda (Anna Sofie Skarholt) and Otto’s (Bo Lindquist-Ellingsen) parents is dispensed with before the opening credits close: it wasn’t safe for Jews of any age to be living in occupied Norway in 1942. As explained in director Johanne Helgeland’s maiden feature, mean old Mr. Hitler and the Nazis punished people for no reason, so in the time it took for the adults to plan their escape route to Sweden, Daniel and Sarah took up residence within the walls of the gentile family’s cellar. And when the Jewish-sympathizing parents are arrested, Gerda takes it upon herself to escort the children to safety. She is reluctantly joined by her sloe-eyed (and even slower-witted) brother Otto (think Larry Mondello of Leave it to Beaver fame), who just that afternoon attended his first Hitler Youth rally. If it all sounds a tad remedial, it should: this is a G-rated family picture aimed at introducing the concept of Nazi atrocities to impressionable minds. It’s what a live-action Nazi adventure for the entire family would have felt like if, in the early ‘60s, Disney had had the audacity to tackle the incredible journey. (The quartet looking on as children are forcibly taken from their mothers’ arms is about as brutal as it gets.) When Otto questions the benefit of giving aid to Jews, even the least hip toddler in the bunch is bound to smart when hit with the ear-cud-chewed-thoroughly reply, “They’re people. We’re people. People help people.” And don’t Hitler’s henchmen have better ways to spend their time than being outfoxed by a band of kids? Two German Shepherds overseen by five uniformed Nazis and one 4K camera drone, and still they can’t bring four refugee children to their knees? Beware: your children may question why mommy and daddy were snickering during this variation on A Child’s Berchtesgaden of Verses. (2020) — Scott Marks
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