INTO THE WHITE (Petter Næss). See listing. Rating: NN
Remember that scene in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse where the American and German soldier set aside their differences for a resonating moment of humanity? Into The White, a based-on-a-true-story World War II drama, drags its heels to achieve what Spielberg did in less than five minutes.
In this case, German and British fighter pilots who crash-land in the snows of Norway take refuge in an isolated cabin. The Germans, led by Florian Lukas’s Lieutenant Schopis, mark their territory first. They welcome British Captain Davenport (Lachlan Nieboer) and his gunner (Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint) as prisoners of war, not such a bad deal, since being confined indoors means they won’t freeze to death.
Power struggles ensue as the soldiers use any casual dialogue – about manners, women or cars – as an opportunity to profess allegiance to their country. That may sound like a great premise, but the entire film feels overly schematic. Every stilted conversation is like a pit stop on a map that will eventually guide both sides to bond over the realization that war sucks.
The cast do a fine job playing types, but with material like this they can’t add much warmth to the frigid tale. Blame it on the snow, I guess.
Opens Friday (July 5) at the Kingsway.
