''The Last King'' () is a 2016 Norwegian

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

, directed by

Nils Gaup Nils Gaup (born 12 April 1955) is a Sámi film director from Norway. Career Gaup was born in Kautokeino, Finnmark County in Northern Norway. He first intended to become an athlete but from 1974 to 1978 he went to drama school and studied at ...

. The story, inspired by true events, centers on the efforts of the Birkebeiner loyalists to protect the infant,

Haakon Haakonsson Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; ; ), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haako ...

, the heir to the

Norwegian throne The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdom ...

after the death of his father, King Haakon Sverresson. The film is set during the

civil war era in Norway The civil war era in Norway (, ''borgarkrigstidi'', ''borgerkrigstida'' or ''borgerkrigstiden'') began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne. ...

during the

13th-century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

Synopsis

In Norway 1204,

Birkebeiner The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; (nynorsk) or (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propaganda from the establ ...

s and king Haakon Sverresson possess the throne in

Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...

. They are threatened by

Bagler The Bagli Party or Bagler (Old Norse: ''Baglarr'', Norwegian Bokmål: ''Bagler'', Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Baglar'') was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, cle ...

s, a rebel faction who have taken power in

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...

, with help from

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. In Nidaros, after having sex, Gisle (Pal Sverre Valheim Hagan), a corrupt aristocrat and Bagler supporter, conspires with the former queen

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(

Lia Boysen Lia Marika Boysen (born 6 April 1966) is a Swedish actress. She was married to Anders Ekborg and they have two daughters. In 2006 she received a Guldbagge Award for her role in the film ''Sök''. She has also narrated audiobooks, among them ''Be ...

) to have king Haakon ( Benjamin Helstad) murdered, promising to return her to power as queen. Margaret's daughter Kristin overhears this and confronts her, but her mother claims that exposing the plot would mean certain death for them, scaring Kristin into secrecy. Margaret poisons Haakon and departs Norway for her native

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Before he dies, however, Haakon reveals he has a son with a woman named

Inga ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s l ...

, and has sent Torstein (

Kristofer Hivju Kristofer Hivju (; born 7 December 1978) is a Norwegian actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Tormund Giantsbane in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' and Connor Rhodes in '' The Fate of the Furious''. Early life Hivju was ...

) and Skervald (

Jakob Oftebro Jakob Hoff Oftebro (born 12 January 1986) is a Norwegian actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2004 including Hamilton and ''Kon-Tiki'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy ...

), two Birkebeiner agents, to find him. Gisle later frames his brother Inge and plans to marry Kristin. After initially securing Inga and her son Haakon, Skervald returns home, only to be seized by Baglers led by the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

Orm (

Nikolaj Lie Kaas Nikolaj Lie Kaas (; born 22 May 1973) is a Danish actor whose career rose in the 1990s. Kaas graduated from the National Theater School in Denmark in 1998. He first appeared on screen in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's film ''The Boys from St. Petri'' i ...

), having been led there by a Birkebeiner traitor. After Skervald reluctantly reveals Haakon's location, Orm murder his wife and infant child, though he narrowly escapes. Skervald arrives at the Birkebeiner camp to warn them of the impending attack. After he reveals that he told the Baglers their location, however, the fort leader plans to execute Skervald. Distracted by this, the Birkebeiner guards are ambushed and overwhelmed by the Baglers, though this allows Skervald to break free with Torstein, Inga and Haakon. After numerous attacks by Baglers, Torstein and Skervald arrive at a village and rally the locals for a final fight. In the battle, Skervald protects Inga and Haakon, while managing to kill Orm, though he is fatally wounded in the process. On the day of Gisle's planned wedding to Kristin, Torstein and the other Birkebeiners enter Nidaros and free Inge. Gisle is subsequently seized and taken away, presumably to be executed. Haakon is officially secured as the next king, and a text explains that "during his reign, there was peace in Norway".

Cast

as Skjervald *

as Torstein * Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen as Gisle (based on

Haakon the Crazy Haakon the Crazy (Old Norse: ''Hákon galinn'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Galen'') was a Norwegian ''jarl'' and Birkebeiner chieftain during the civil war era in Norway. Håkon Galen was born no later than the 1170s and died in 1214. His epithet "the cra ...

) *

Thorbjørn Harr Thorbjørn Harr (born 24 May 1974) is a Norwegian actor. Background Harr was discovered in a schoolyard by NRK people who were scouting for actors for youth series. Career He soon became a familiar face on programs like ''Blikkbåx'' and '' ...

as Inge jarl * Benjamin Helstad as

Haakon III of Norway Haakon III Sverresson ( Norwegian: ''Håkon Sverresson'', Old Norse: ''Hákon Sverrisson''; c. 1183 – 1 January 1204) was King of Norway from 1202 to 1204. Biography Haakon was born as the second illegitimate son of the future King Sverre, then ...

Stig Henrik Hoff Stig Henrik Hoff (born 4 February 1965) is a Norwegian actor. He was born in Vadsø but grew up in Berlevåg and Darbu. He is the son of Norwegian singer and writer Trygve Henrik Hoff Trygve Henrik Hoff (7 July 1938 – 2 December 19 ...

as Erlend *

as Orm the Knight * Ane Ulmoen Øverli as

Inga of Varteig Inga Olafsdatter of Varteig (''Inga Olafsdatter fra Varteig'') (Varteig, Østfold, 1183 or 1185 – 1234 or 1235) was the mistress of King Haakon III of Norway and the mother of King Haakon IV of Norway. Biography Inga, from Varteig in Østf ...

Thea Sofie Loch Næss Thea Sofie Loch Næss (born 26 November 1996, Kristiansand) is a Norwegian actress. Career She started acting at the age of 8. She played a leading role in Eirik Svensson’s coming-of-age film 'One Night in Oslo' in 2013, which premiered in Apr ...

as Kristina Sverresdotter * Anders Dahlberg as Aslak * Elg Elgesem as Frikk * Torkel Dommersnes Soldal * Adam Nemet as Gisle's henchman *

Søren Pilmark Søren Louis Pilmark (born 16 October 1955) is a Danish actor. Pilmark has worked as a film and theatrical actor, a director, and as an author. Søren Pilmark er sammen med hans kone Susanne ambassadør foSOS Børnebyerne Career Theater ...

as The Bishop *

as Margareta Eriksdotter

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 9 reviews.

Historical accuracy

The historical accuracy of the film was heavily critiqued by professor Hans Jacob Orning on the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

's official history site for a number of points such as open practice of

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

in the 13th century, the black and white portrayal of the Birkebeiner and Bagler factions, Gisle's (standing in for

) support of the Baglers and

's supposedly more democratic rule. While the film's portrayal of the Bagler-faction as being backed by Denmark is true, it leaves out that the Birkebeiner had similar support from Sweden. Inge Bårdsson is shown as supporting Haakon Haakonsson's claim, while in reality he did not view him as legitimate. At one point the baby Haakon Haakonsson is given a potato, despite the potato being introduced in the mid 18th century in Norway. During a promotional interview on

Skavlan ''Skavlan'' was a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It premiered in Sweden on Sveriges Television (SVT) in January 2009, and the first guests to appear on the show were former Prime Minister ...

, lead actor Jakob Oftebro stated the film was about the Protestant Birkebeiner fighting Catholic Bagler, misplacing the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

by about 300 years, which led to widespread ridicule and criticism of Skavlan for not pointing out what was viewed as a blatant inaccuracy. The film also depicts Margareta Eriksdotter as poisoning Haakon in a conspiracy to become queen again with Gisle. In reality, Margaret was suspected of killing the king, but was never proven to have done so. Also, while the film portrays Haakon as having great respect for Margaret, evidence suggests the two actually had a difficult relationship. Margaret attempted to leave Norway with her daughter Kristin Sverrsedotter, but Haakon had his men retrieve Kristin. It is possible that Margaret (if responsible) poisoned the king out of vengeful spite rather than a conspiracy. The film shows them going on two identical long skis. During the period as told by

Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset (; 20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Danish people, Danish-born Norwegian people, Norwegian novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1928. Born in Den ...

in ''Kristin Lavransdatter'' and ''The Master of Hestviken'' people used one long ski and one short ski. The short ski was used for traction going uphill. Although Undset was a novelist, she had expert knowledge of details of this period.

References

External links