Nokas is a 2010 movie about Norway's most spectacular robbery that took place in the early morning of April 5th 2004. It's shot much like a documentary, giving a minute by minute account of what happened from several perspectives: the robbers, the police, those who worked at the bank and everyday people. The over the shoulder style of filming works really well and adds a realistic and intense feeling that carries through the entirety of the movie. Unlike many other heist movies, this focuses strictly on what happened before and during the heist, and the consequences of what happened. Therefore I'd say it's the story that is the films main protagonist, while the characters are just there to serve that story, without going into much detail who these people are or how they got to this point.
Erik Skjoldbjærg does an extraordinary job at serving the story with respect to those that were involved, without glorifying the actions of the robbers while at the same time giving an realistic insight into what happened. You get to see just how unprepared the police in Norway were at this time, taken aback not expecting such a brutal robbery to take place during the middle of a public holiday and the robbers fully taking advantage of this. The shoot-out scenes as well are extremely realistic. Most civilians in Norway had never experienced such a thing before, so a lot of them would just walk through the line of fire while the robbers and police are shooting at each other, with many believing the entire situation was just a drill. There's even a guy who was taken hostage during the robbery who later confessed that it wasn't before the robbers tried to leave that he was finally starting the realise the magnitude of what he was just experiencing. The entirety of this robbery was from all perspectives one huge chaotic event. Skjoldbjærg does a fantastic job of portraying the panic the robbers experienced when things didn't go their way, to how the understaffed police went on to handle the situation. When the movie is finally over, you can't help but feel that you've just watched something great.
Nokas is a must see heist movie for everyone that loves intense realistic thrillers.
Rating: 8/10.
Erik Skjoldbjærg does an extraordinary job at serving the story with respect to those that were involved, without glorifying the actions of the robbers while at the same time giving an realistic insight into what happened. You get to see just how unprepared the police in Norway were at this time, taken aback not expecting such a brutal robbery to take place during the middle of a public holiday and the robbers fully taking advantage of this. The shoot-out scenes as well are extremely realistic. Most civilians in Norway had never experienced such a thing before, so a lot of them would just walk through the line of fire while the robbers and police are shooting at each other, with many believing the entire situation was just a drill. There's even a guy who was taken hostage during the robbery who later confessed that it wasn't before the robbers tried to leave that he was finally starting the realise the magnitude of what he was just experiencing. The entirety of this robbery was from all perspectives one huge chaotic event. Skjoldbjærg does a fantastic job of portraying the panic the robbers experienced when things didn't go their way, to how the understaffed police went on to handle the situation. When the movie is finally over, you can't help but feel that you've just watched something great.
Nokas is a must see heist movie for everyone that loves intense realistic thrillers.
Rating: 8/10.