''Blodveien'' (The Blood Road; sh, Krvavi put) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

- Yugoslav drama film from 1955 directed by

Kåre Bergstrøm Kåre Bergstrøm (3 February 1911 – 24 June 1976) was a Swedish-born photographer and film director who settled in Norway. Bergstrøm was born in Värmland. He was assigned with the film production company Norsk Film from 1933, and eventuall ...

and Radoš Novaković.''Store norske leksikon'': Blodveien.
/ref> The script was written by

Sigurd Evensmo Sigurd Evensmo (14 February 1912 – 17 October 1978) was a Norwegian author and journalist.

. The film premiered in Norway on February 17, 1955.

Plot

''Blodveien'' portrays the conditions that Yugoslav (mostly Serbian) slave laborers and prisoners of war lived under in

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

in 1942 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when the Germans wanted to build the route known as the "

Blood Road The Blood Road ( no, Blodveien) is a route northeast of Rognan in the municipality of Saltdal in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway that was built by prisoners during the German occupation of Norway, Second World War. The route was a ...

" (today part of

European route E6 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and t ...

among other routes). Two local Norwegian friends and construction workers, Ketil and Ivar, serve as construction supervisors on the road under pressure from the Germans. They had earlier helped build the small concentration camp that prisoners later lived in, without understanding what they were involved in. The prisoners are sympathetic toward them because they try to help them to the extent that they can. The Germans take harsh revenge after an escape attempt by shooting some of the prisoners. The Germans, led by the sadistic Schwarz, terrorize and kill prisoners at random almost daily. Ketil's young son Magnar is bored at home on the small mountain farm and wants to get out and do something with his life. He enlists with the German forces and is made a guard at the prison camp. The prisoner Janko escapes from the camp after being shot by Schwarz. He receives help along the way after his dramatic escape, and is on his way over the mountains toward neutral Sweden when he is captured by Magnar and brought at gunpoint back to the prison camp. Magnar's father Ketil, who was out seeking to help Janko, encounters them and there is a confrontation between the father and son. The father wants all three of them to escape to Sweden, but the son does not. During a scuffle between the father and son, the rifle between them discharges and the son is fatally wounded. The film ends with the father Ketil following Janko to the Swedish border and bidding him farewell with the words ''Frihet for mennesket'' 'Freedom for mankind.'

Cast

Ola Isene Ola Isene (2 June 1898 – 6 May 1973) was a Norwegian opera singer (baritone) and actor. Isene was born in Rødenes and studied at the Musikkonservatoriet in Oslo, Kristiania. He made his professional debut at the Mayol-teatret in 1923. His ope ...

: Ketil * Andreas Bjarke: Ivar *

Tom Tellefsen Tom Tellefsen (30 October 1931 – 17 January 2012) was a Norwegian actor. He was born in Asker. He was married to actress Rut Tellefsen from 1955 to 1962. He made his film debut in 1949, in Arne Skouen's '' Gategutter'', and also played in '' ...

: Magnar, Ketil's son''Store norske leksikon'': Tom Tellefsen.
/ref> * Milan Milosević: Janko * Milivoj Zivanović: Miljan *

Liv Strømsted Liv Dommersnes (née Strømsted; 28 September 1922 – 6 April 2014) was a Norwegian actress and reciter of poetry. She was a member of group that founded Studioteatret in 1945. Personal life Liv Strømsted was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norw ...

: Ragnhild *

Lalla Carlsen Lalla Carlsen (née Haralda Petrea Christensen) (17 August 1889 – 23 March 1967) was a Norwegian singer and actress. She is regarded as one of the most legendary female revue artists in Norway. Personal life Lalla Carlsen was born in Svelvik ...

: Ane *

Helge Essmar Helge or Helgi is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch mostly male name. The name is derived from Proto-Norse ''Hailaga'' with its original meaning being ''dedicated to the gods''. For its Slavic version, see Oleg. Its feminine equivalent is Olga. ...

: Guttorm * Arne Lie: a Nazi * Thor Hjorth-Jenssen: a Nazi * Antun Nalis: Schwarz * Ivan Jonas: Vlado * Mihajlo Paskavljević: the doctor * Aca Ognjatović: the actor * Marijan Berger: Bojan * Dobrica Stefanović: Milenko * Janez Vhrovec: Vuk * Ivica Kadić: Vjeko * Rolf Søder: a soldier

References

External links

*
''Norsk filmografi'': ''Blodveien''
* {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Blodveien'' (film) World War II films based on actual events 1955 films Norwegian war drama films 1950s war drama films Norwegian historical drama films Films set in Norway World War II prisoner of war films 1950s Norwegian-language films Serbo-Croatian-language films 1955 drama films 1950s historical drama films Yugoslav historical drama films Yugoslav war drama films Yugoslav World War II films Films directed by Kåre Bergstrøm Norwegian black-and-white films Yugoslav black-and-white films 1950s multilingual films Norwegian multilingual films Yugoslav multilingual films