“Okkupert” is a Norwegian political
With a budget of kr 90 million (USD 11 million), the series is the most expensive Norwegian production to date, and has been sold to the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. It is also streamed by Netflix in Australia, the United States, India and Canada, where it currently holds a four and a half star rating out of five.
“Okkupert” depicts a fictional near future in which Russia, with support from the EU, occupies Norway to restore its oil production. This is prompted by a Europe-wide energy crisis caused by Norway’s Green Party coming to power and stopping the country’s oil production.
“Homeland” Withdrawal? This Series From Norway Is Your New Favorite Geopolitical Thriller | Vogue | Jan 29, 2016
In a not-so-distant future, Norway has elected a radical branch of the Green Party, and its charismatic new prime minister shuts down the country’s supply of oil and gas to continental Europe. Despite an impending climate crisis, the EU is none too pleased with this overnight weaning from petrol, and invites Russia to offer Norway “technical assistance” in restoring its fossil fuel production. Russian gunships descend on Norway’s oil platforms. America, having withdrawn from NATO, is nowhere to be found. And so begins a slow, doublespeak-laden, Putin-style escalation into occupation.
In a dramatic style characteristic of Scandinavian film and television, the characters, which are drawn from every faction of the political situation and include the prime minister, a Norwegian double agent, a newspaper reporter, his restaurateur wife, and even the de facto Russian governor of Norway, are all portrayed sympathetically. And as a viewer, it’s impossible to take sides, or even to see through the fog of war to what a good outcome might be.
Occupied is Norway’s most successful (and expensive) TV series ever. Coproduced by the Swedish company behind The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Wallander, the show has garnered a wide audience across Europe—and strong objections from the Russian embassy in Oslo, which condemned the show. Netflix has just begun streaming Occupied, and though it’s unclear if the American audience will embrace an episodic with subtitles, this viewer, at least, found the series most binge-worthy.
Erik Skjoldbjærg, who directed Prozac Nation and the original, pre–Christopher Nolan Insomnia, is one of the show’s primary writers, and also the director of the first two episodes. Skjoldbjærg recently spoke with Vogue.com by phone from Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, where he was momentarily stranded after missing a flight to Oslo.
How closely is Occupied related to what you and the other writers see in the real-world geopolitical situation?
Well, the Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbø came up with the idea back in 2008. I got involved a bit later on. And we obviously looked at the political situation in a number of different global conflicts. But we didn’t define it based on a single one. The day we started shooting, the Russian invasion of Crimea happened. And a lot of people have pointed to the similarities there. But obviously what happened in Ukraine couldn’t have been an inspiration. The season had already been planned.
But looking at the world, it’s obvious that at some point we are going to have an energy crisis, and with it an environmental crisis. And those two factors are going to, for sure, create some serious social changes. So in that sense, the series is realistic and mirrors the world’s current situation.
A lot of similar shows, even Homeland, have been criticized for creating a sort of false notion of good vs. evil. But with Occupied, I think most people will find themselves rooting for every character, even some of the Russian occupiers.
I’m glad you say that, because I always like to defend my characters to the bitter end. And I like actors who defend their characters. The really interesting conflicts are ones where you can understand both sides. It’s just a matter of what you emphasize. I don’t believe in evil, and I don’t find evil characters that interesting. In this show, everyone is trying to do their best, trying to do good in whatever situation they’re in. It boils down to their perspective and what they view as their task. And I think that’s part of why the world, why a lot of conflicts in the world, don’t have easy answers. But unfortunately we have to deal with them.
In some ways the show’s premise—a developed Western nation being invaded—is a bit far-fetched, and yet it all unfolds in quite a real-feeling way.
If our democratic rights were taken away from us, how would we react? I believe the vast majority would not take up arms. And I think, statistically, that is proven in both World Wars and in other conflicts with occupations. Most people would focus on their family, their jobs, their economy, their social status. These things are even more important than freedom of speech and other rights, at least for a while.
That was kind of our premise for the show. Follow these characters and see how they react. The myth is that people resist with everything they’ve got. Whereas the reality—if you look at it yourself and ask, What would you do? I’m not convinced I would take up arms and do, for instance, what the resistance group Free Norway does on the show.
During production I happened to hear that Kris Kristofferson song “Me and Bobby McGee.” You know, with the line, “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” Janis Joplin sang it, too. Anyway, when I heard that, it felt like a tagline for the whole series.
Are you excited to be picked up by Netflix in the U.S.?
In a way, when you come from a small country, you are just happy to get something distributed. It’s already played above expectations, so that makes me feel confident.
Does that mean there will be a second season?
Yes.
Occupied is available to stream now from Netflix.
TV drama depicting Russian invasion premieres in Norway | The Guardian | Oct 2, 2015
Russian commandos have kidnapped the prime minister. The Russian tricolour is flying over the capital. Citizens must decide whether they will collaborate with the occupation, or resist.
The scenario of Occupied, a Scandinavian thriller that premieres in Norway this weekend (Sunday 4 October), and in western Europe during the autumn, is likely to tap into fears of Russian aggression – and perhaps, according to critics, inflame them.
Based on an idea by the bestselling Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø, the series imagines that an environmentalist government has come to power in Norway and ceased to supply Europe with North Sea oil, forcing the EU to call on Russia to come to its aid.
This is a big-budget production with backing from Arte, the Franco-German TV network, and produced by the Swedish studio behind the Wallander TV series and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies.
Russia has condemned the series for pitting Scandinavians against Russians “in the worst traditions of the cold war”. Although its creators claim that it is obviously fiction, the global context has been upended since Occupied was originally conceived – Russia’s occupation of Crimea last year and the civil war in east Ukraine have fuelled the worst crisis in relations with Moscow for a generation.
“When I presented this idea about two years ago, they said the problem is it’s a bit far-fetched,” Nesbø told the Guardian this year. But events in Ukraine have proved him right, he believes.
Marianne Gray, the series producer, said:“The timing is insane given what is happening in the world.”
For many in the Nordic countries, the possibility of Russian aggression seems an all too clear and present danger. Governments are ramping up their military spending in step with their rhetoric.
Sweden’s military has been instructed to call up thousands of reservists for refresher training “to increase the operational effectiveness of our units in response to the changing security situation in Europe”, said Maj Gen Karl Engelbrektson, an army spokesman. Sweden’s home guard, which mobilises some 22,000 volunteer reservists, says it has seen a large increase in people wanting to join since the Ukraine-Russia conflict broke out.
Earlier this year, Sweden’s government declared it was returning troops to the strategic Baltic territory of Gotland amid suspicions that Russia had conducted war games to seize Swedish, Danish and Finnish islands. The Swedish defence minister, Peter Hultqvist, announced an inquiry this autumn into reintroducing conscription, a move he himself favours and which is popular in the polls.
Urban Lindström, whose Facebook campaign to bring back conscription last month surpassed 10,000 followers, said: “It is imperative that not only the professional army, but also the home guard receives soldiers with adequate training – we can only achieve that with a sufficient number of conscripts every year.”
Opinion surveys suggest a new and growing plurality in favour of joining Nato – “insurance against occupation”, as some politicians call it. According to a poll in September, 41% of Swedes were in favour of Nato membership – up 10 percentage points since May – and 39% against.
Until recently, Finland was emphatically opposed to Nato membership, but its new rightwing government said in May it reserved the option to apply for membership “at any time” and was calculating the potential costs and implications.
Hannah Smith, a specialist in Russia at Helsinki University, and a supporter of Nato membership, said: “Since the beginning of 2014 the average voter’s concern about Russia has increased massively. A lot of the younger generation has been infected by the older generation’s suspiciousness.”
Suspicions about Moscow’s intentions towards Denmark have been fuelled by incursions into Danish airspace, with fighters scrambled 58 times in 2014 to intercept Russian aircraft. Denmark’s military intelligence alleges that In June 2014, Russia mounted a dummy attack on the Danish island of Bornholm while the country’s political elite were gathered there.
The choice of the Danish title – The Russian Ambassador – for Norway’s new TV series carries a particular resonance given the furore this year caused by Mikhail Vanin, Russia’s ambassador to Copenhagen, when he told a newspaper that Danish warships would be “targets for Russian nuclear missiles”, if the country chose to join Nato’s missile shield. The series airs in Denmark next week.
Vanin said: “History shows that aggression has always originated from the west of Europe. It is sufficient to recall the Teutonic Knights, Swedish expansion, Napoleon or Hitler. Do not forget about their modern successor – Nato. In this context, we have no positive sentiments about the forthcoming premiere of Occupied.”
Oslo’s relations with Russia have also turned frosty. In September, Norway unveiled the first of up to 52 F-35 fighter jets it is purchasing from the US, saying the stealth aircraft provide an important counterweight to Russia in the region. Announcing a boost to military spending, the defence minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide said: “Russia has shown both the ability and willingness to use military force to achieve its strategic objectives.”
Public opinion has also shifted. An opinion survey of 41 countries by Gallup last year found that Norwegians topped the poll as the most negatively disposed towards the Russian leadership, with 89% disapproving.
“In Norway many people used to be moderately positive towards Russia, but the developments in Ukraine have driven a big shift,” said Indra Øverland, a professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. “Some of those who were neutral have turned negative, and the negatives have gone super-negative.”
How will the new fictionalised TV version of Russian occupation play among the Scandinavian public? “Lots of people will watch it, but it is more an expression of what has changed rather than something that will influence opinion,” Prof Øverland said.
When Geir Pollen, a lecturer in Norwegian at St Petersburg State University, wrote an article condemning the series for resurrecting cold war stereotypes, some of his Russian students wrote him letters of thanks.
“When I see how much they love Norwegian and work on the language and are so dedicated, but then we give them such rubbish, I am very much ashamed,” Pollen said. “The series contributes to a black and white picture of the Russians. It is very irresponsible.”
Occupied will show on Sky Arts in the UK early in 2016. The series airs in Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Belgium this autumn and in the new year.
Russia Criticizes War-Themed Norwegian TV Series “Occupied” | The Hollywood Reporter | Aug 28, 2015
Russia’s embassy in Norway has issued a concerned statement about the new Norwegian television series Okkupert (Occupied), which tells a fictitious story about Norway being occupied by Russia.
“Although the creators of the TV series were at pains to stress that the plot is fictitious and allegedly has nothing to do with reality, the film shows quite specific countries, and Russia, unfortunately, was given the role of an aggressor,” reads the statement, quoted by the Russian news agency TASS.
With a budget of 90 million kroner ($10.8 million), Occupied, created by renowned Norwegian crime author Jo Nesbø, is Norway’s most expensive television series ever made.
Set in the near future, the series tells a story about Russia occupying Norway on behalf of the European Union, due to the fact that the newly elected environmental friendly Norwegian government has stopped the all important oil- and gas-production in the North Sea.
“It is certainly regretful that in the year when the 70th anniversary of the victory in the second world war is celebrated, the series’ creators decided to scare Norwegian viewers with a non-existing threat from the East in the worst Cold War traditions, as if they had forgotten about the Soviet Army’s heroic contribution to liberation of Northern Norway from Nazi occupants,” continues the statement.
The first episode of Occupied, is scheduled to be aired on Norway’s TV2 on Sept. 27. The TV series was picked up by French-German network ARTE, according to the Nordic Film and TV Fund.