IT WAS NOT THE ORGANIZATION’S FAULT. I was supposed to be one of many volunteers who were assigned to turn an empty warehouse space into a fantasy land. The theme of the event they were hoping to create was titled “Coming Out of the Shadows.” When I was given the assignment, I was told at the time that there would be longer hours involved the closer we got to the gala charity event. When I arrived on the first day of my assignment, I was expecting a large group to be in attendance. It was obvious to me there were not a lot of people. The coordinator addressed it immediately, telling us several individuals called at the last minute to say they would not be able to come and help. He told us he was trying to find others to help, but they had to follow a tight schedule and asked us to be patient and do the best we could. I felt bad for the organization but was willing to do whatever I could to help. After he was done speaking, the coordinator took us to a storage space that was filled with all kinds of props, lights, materials, and mannequins. Each of us was handed a sheet that had a rendering of what the room was supposed to look like. He told us different people will pop in at times to check on the progress and give any suggestions if needed; but he stressed that we should try to have fun creating what he thought was such an imaginative space.      ONCE HE LEFT US, EACH OF us took turns introducing ourselves and stating what we thought our strengths were for this task. I mentioned that I have a good eye for spacing and organization. Part of my job was to haul out groups of items that were ready to be used by the volunteers who had a flair for decorating. I offered suggestions to them when I thought something was not working or would be in the way of the guests when the room was full. Later in the day it was obvious we would have to stay late if we were to stay on track to finish everything on time. Gratefully, the organization ordered pizza for us since we were going to be there late into the night. As I was taking things out of the storeroom, I discovered there were props that were too heavy for me to carry. I found someone to help, and we still struggled to get the items out onto the floor. For the entire week we had to keep this pace up, staying up late every night, eating something quick when we could, and always on the move. I was exhausted every night when I got home. By the end of the week all of us were sore and exhausted from all the work, but it was worth it. The organization was thrilled with the results. I felt good about how much we sacrificed to get things done and ready for the event. Not that it is a contest, but after seeing this biographical drama, my sacrifice pales in comparison.      ON THE VERGE OF BEING OCCUPIED, a Norwegian citizen decides he cannot sit back and watch his country be taken over by Nazi Germany. What he starts to do will make him the number one target of the German forces. With Sjur Vatne Brean (Out Stealing Horses, Delete Me-TV) as Gunner Sonsteby, Erik Hivju (Max Manus: Man of War, Hvaler-TV) as the older Gunnar Sonsteby, Philip Helgar (Russebussen-TV) as  Edward Tallaksen, Magnus Degpale (Cabin Crazy, Total Paranoia) as Andreas Aubert, and Ines Hoysaeter Asserson (Softshell, Heirs of the Night-TV) as Reidun Andersen; this war film told a story I had never heard in any of my history classes, which is a shame. I thought the script was going to bother me as it jumped from present time to past, but it wound up adding an extra layer of connection with the characters. The story in of itself was remarkable and I enjoyed the way the writers stuck to a straightforward story line without taking many dramatic liberties. It also assisted with keeping the moral questions on equal footing. The acting was good; they came across as real people. This was such an incredible story to watch and knowing that it was based on a true person made it even better. Norwegian, German, Danish and English were spoken with subtitles.

3 ½ stars