The “Kampen om Narvik” actor: Inspired by his grandmother

On Christmas Day, the public can finally flock to cinemas to see the film about the battles at Narvik in 1940.

The postponements have been many and long in the run-up to the premiere.

– We started filming in March 2020. I was 24 then, now I’m 27, says Carl Martin Eggesbø, who plays one of the film’s main roles.

– When the pandemic came, we probably had around twelve days of recording before we took a break. We continued a bit in May and June of the same year, but the rest of the film was postponed until 2021.

The film was then scheduled to premiere in March 2022, but this too was postponed after Russia invaded Ukraine.

– It is of course difficult to delay. Under the current circumstances, we have nevertheless come to the conclusion that it is the only right thing to do, stated the film’s producer Aage Aarberge in connection with the postponement.

– None of them are heroes

In the film “The Battle of Narvik”, we see Norwegian neutrality shattered when Germany invades Norway, on the night of 9 April 1940. The war in Europe seems distant to the Norwegians, but on this fateful spring night, they get to feel it close to their bodies.

“The battle for Narvik” is based on the stories of real people, but the events in Narvik are experienced through the eyes of a fictional family of three.

Good evening Norway has met the main actors, Carl Martin Eggesbø and Kristine Hartgen. They play the young couple Ingrid and Gunnar, who suddenly find themselves in an unexpected life crisis.

– None of them are heroes, even if they do brave things. Both are doing their best to make the situation better, says Hartgen.

Watch the trailer for “Kampen om Narvik” here:

– In order to survive, we have to act in ways that we may disagree with, Hartgen reveals about the film’s action.

It is both their first major leading roles, but the actors are nevertheless relaxed before the premiere.

– It makes it easier for me to do this together with Carl Martin, says Hartgen.

– I think the long launch has made it easier. I relax a little more, says Eggesbø.

– Generational traumas

Kristine Hartgen was born and raised in Tromsø. She herself has a strong connection to the action in the film.

– In the north, many people feel a strong awareness of what happened during the Second World War, because so much happened that is not talked about as much. It was also not processed well enough, she says.

– It has been generational trauma, quite simply.

The 33-year-old says that by highlighting the stories with the help of film, you can start processing material and put the story behind you.

– That is why I think this film has great power. Not only for the region in the north, but also for the whole of Norway.

Several of the stories she has heard during her childhood can be compared to the relationships and themes in the film in which she now plays the lead role.

In Good evening Norway, she tells about her two grandfathers. One was a young boy during the war and lived in Narvik. The other came from Hammerfest to fight with the Alta battalion. He was eventually sent to Grini and Sachsenhausen.

– When I was a child, I slept in a cradle that my grandfather slept in during the Battle of Narvik. It has holes in it from the shrapnel, she shares.

– It was only afterwards that I actually realized how close I have been to these stories. I only understood that after I started working on the film. It has been nice and meaningful.

Lost my grandmother

Hartgen says that her own grandmother was an essential part of shaping the character “Ingrid”.

The grandmother was the same age as Hartgen’s character when the war broke out.

– I worked very hard to think about how she felt, and we had several conversations about how it was for her.

Hartgen says that the grandmother lived to be 102 years old, but that she still had a strong memory of what happened during the war.

– The older grandma got, the more she started telling me.

The actor says that it is especially during the last few years that the grandmother started telling stories from the war.

– It was so fresh in the memory, as if it had happened yesterday. She explained in great detail.

The grandmother passed away earlier this autumn. The actress says that she was able to visit her one last time.

– I had a strong gut feeling that I had to visit.

She says that she got a file with the film on it, and traveled up in October. Thus, the actress was shown “The Battle of Narvik” to her grandmother.

– Then the whole story got a nice rounding off. You can be sad, but it’s also mostly that I feel gratitude that it turned out the way it did, she says.

The actor opened up about the last few days with his grandmother. See video at the top of the case.

I think “SKAM” fans will like the film

The actors believe “The Battle of Narvik” is an important story to convey to the public.

– Very many time witnesses we have from the Second World War have passed away. Fewer remember physically what happened during the war. Then it is very easy for the rest of us to think that the war happened a very long time ago, says Eggesbø and continues:

– We must remember that these people were young people, as we are today. Most of the soldiers had barely turned 20 years old.

Carl Martin Eggesbø had his big breakthrough in 2016, when he played the character Eskild in “SKAM”. He also ran away with the victory during season 2 of “Kompani Lauritzen”.

Eggesbø believes that “SKAM” fans will enjoy “Kampen om Narvik”.

– There are many faithful “SKAM” fans, who might find it fun to see me in a slightly different role, he says.

– I think people will enjoy the film because it is a good film.