History Film / NineLives

* ''Film/NineLives2016'', an American fantasy comedy film.

'''Nine Lives''' is a Norwegian feature film made in 1957, made by director Arne Skouen. The film is BasedOnATrueStory, and tells the story of war hero ''Jan Baalsrud'', who made it out of Norway alive after a failed attempt to smuggle weapons to the Norwegian resistance movement during WorldWarII. All of his crew members were shot, and Baalsrud himself escaped, severely wounded, and developed gangrene in his feet, as well as snow blindness. Nevertheless, he was helped over the border to Swedish Lapland, where he rejoined the resistance fight. The movie tells the story of this hazardous escape. It is considered one of the most epic movies ever made in Norway.

!!! The movie contains examples of these tropes:

* {{Badass}}: Jan Baalsrud himself. Also his actor, Jack Fjeldstad, who did most of his own stunts. Swimming through icy waters was probably the most badass moment of all.
** The badass factor also covers the men who carry him, on a stretcher, up into the mountains of Troms, with one of them breaking three ribs on the way.
** Agnes, who decided to help her husband, knowing full well that Baalsrud might be dead. She almost collapses in a blizzard.
* BadassGrandpa: The father of the farmer Martin who helps Baalsrud up to the mountains. He is GenreSavvy enough to know what his son is up to, and bails him out behind his back.
* BasedOnATrueStory: Jan Baalsrud wrote a book of his experience, which Arne Skouen used for good measure, as well as advice from Baalsrud himself.
** The beginning of the movie lampshades it by stating that Baalsrud got a lot of help, but the people who helped him were so many that the movie was unable to record them all. Therefore, a couple like Agnes and Martin are composite characters.
* BigDamnHeroes: The sami who eventually found Baalsrud minutes before he gave in and shot himself.
* BookEnds: The movie begins and ends in the hospital in northern Sweden where Baalsrud got treatment for his wounds.
* CasualDangerDialogue. It is, after all, a war movie.
* CompositeCharacter: Very likely in the case of Agnes and Martin, and several others. The sheer amount of people who ''actually'' helped Baalsrud would make the movie overly long.
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The score, written by composer Gunnar Sønstevold.
* DangerDeadpan: All the way. Baalsrud himself, and also Martin the farmer when a blinded Baalsrud cocks his gun at him:
---> If you shoot now, you won`t miss.
* {{Determinator}}: Baalsrud had a lot of chances to just drift off and die. He lived to tell the tale
* DisasterDominoes: Consider that an entire action movie hinges on the hero accidentally ''knocking on the wrong door''. Which leads to the alerted Germans, the whole mission going awash, and then the dramatic flight covering the rest of the movie.
* DramaticDeadpan: Especially when Baalsrud orders his companions to leave a knife behind in case the doctor will be late for a surgery on his legs. When they ask him why he can`t use his gun, he answers calmly:
---> My gun has only six shots. ''I need nine''!
** He had nine injured toes to get rid of.
* EnemyWithin: Discussed when meeting the unwitting cobbler Hansen (who later betrays them). He has recently been given a flyer which warns him that "any contact with the enemy will be punished by death". The resistance men immediately ask him:
---> Who is the enemy? And who are ''we''?
* EpicFail: When the resistance men get to shore, they are adviced to search for a cobbler named Hansen. Unfortunately, that name is the most common name in Norway, and the man they encounter is not the man they seek. The right one is already arrested, and this cobbler is a coward who betrays them. Tragedy ensues.
* FlatYes: Underlining the badassery of Agnes, wife of Martin, who sheltered Baalsrud and arranged for his hiding-place in the mountains. When none of them have been able to get to Baalsrud for at least two weeks because of bad weather, Martin decides to check on him. Agnes volunteers to follow him. Martin states the obvious:
---> '''Martin''': You are aware we have do get a dead man down?
---> '''Agnes''': [[FlatYes Yes]].
* HandicappedBadass: Baalsrud had to cut off his own toes to prevent gangrene to spread through the rest of his foot. The movie shows him ''walking without help'' as the end credits go.
** A long sequence shows Baalsrud, unable to walk because of his gangrene, lying alone in a mountain cave, waiting for the people who are meant to carry him to Sweden. As they give up several times, Baalsrud hangs on, even surviving a blizzard which buries him completely.
** Baalsrud also managed to fight at the end of the war, coming down in Norway with a parachute, having kept only two of his toes.
* LostForWords: The woman who was supposed to wrote down Baalsrud`s story for the record, is seen with her sheet completely blank at the end of the movie. She has not been able to write down anything.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Many, ''many'' times as the story unfolds, starting in the first scene, when Baalsrud in the hospital (set after the actual story), shrugs off the woman from England with a "nothing to worry about" to hold off her concern. For the record, he has recently cut off ''eight of his toes'' himself. Nothing to worry about?
* MoodWhiplash: From downer to joy, when it turns out Baalsrud actually survived the blizzard, and responds after Martin has uncovered him. The scene also doubles as one of the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny funniest moments]] in the entire movie, with Baalsrud just lying flat on his back, almost covered in snow. Martin states:
---> He is dead.
---> '''Baalsrud''': [[LittleNo No]]. ({{Beat}}). [[DramaticDeadpan You never fool an old fox]].
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: The scene where Baalsrud is forced to cut off his own toes with a knife. Not one single wound is shown - we only see the time lapse, and his hand gripping hard on the bedside. When it is all over, Baalsrud collapses in bed, cued by a shrill fanfare from the score. {{Badass}} indeed.
* RatedMForManly: Obviously.
* SanitySlippage: When the men who are meant to carry him to Sweden continously fail to find him, Baalsrud started to hallucinate, and was almost ready to shoot himself when help finally arrived.
* SoleSurvivor: The resistance crew were mowed down by german machine guns. Baalsrud barely survived.
* SmurfettePrinciple: Three female actors, with Agnes (Henny Moan) getting most of the attention. The two others are a midwife, and the female reporter at the hospital.
* TitleDrop: When the doctor comes to tend to Baalsrud, his companions jab: "He`s like a cat, he has nine lives!"
** Later, in the mountain, when he has to be buried out of a snow drift, still unable to move: "You have even more lives, Jan!"
* ThoseWackyNazis: Wehrmacht soldiers are seen in many scenes, usually searching for Baalsrud. [[AssholeVictim He shoots at least one of them]].
* WholePlotReference: TheEighties action movie ''Orion`s Belt'' made a point of copying most of the plot in a ColdWar setting (making the hero stumble his way through the desolation of ''Svalbard''). When ''that'' movie was spoofed by the Norwegian KLM trio, this even got lampshaded:
---> Jan Baalsrud was lucky, he only lost his toes!
* WorldWarII: The whole thing happens during the difficult winter of 1943.

---> '''Baalsrud''': [[LittleNo No]]. [[DramaticDeadpan You never fool an old fox]].

* {{Homage}}: TheEighties action movie ''Orion`s Belt'' made a point of copying most of the plot in a ColdWar setting. When ''that'' movie was spoofed by the Norwegian KLM trio, this even got lampshaded:
---> Jan Baalsrud was lucky, he only lost his toes!

* {{Homage}}: TheEighties action movie ''orion`s belt'' made a point of copying most of the plot in a ColdWar setting. When ''that'' movie was spoofed by the Norwegian KLM trio, this even got lampshaded:

* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Many, ''many'' times as the story unfolds, starting in the first scene, when Baalsrud in the hospital (set after the actual story), shrugs off the woman from England with a "nothing to worry about" to hold off her concern.

---> '''Baalsrud''': [[LittleNo No]]. [[DeadpanSnarker You never fool an old fox]].

* MoodWhiplash: From downer to joy, when it turns out Baalsrud actually survived the blizzard, and responds after Martin has uncovered him. The scene also doubles as one of the most CrowningMomentOfFunny in the entire movie, with Baalsrud just lying flat on his back, almost covered in snow. Martin states:

---> '''Baalsrud''': No. [[DeadpanSnarker You never fool an old fox]].

* FlatYes: Understating the badassery of Agnes, wife of Martin, who sheltered Baalsrud and arranged for his hiding-place in the mountains. When none of them have been able to get to Baalsrud for at least two weeks because of bad weather, Martin decides to check on him. Agnes volunteers to follow him. Martin states the obvious:

* LostForWords: The woman who was supposed to wrote down Baalsrud`s story for the record, is seen with her sheet completely blank at the end of the movie. She has not been able to write down anything.

---> '''Martin''': You are aware we are going to look for a dead man?

* EnemyWithin: Discussed when meeting the unwitting cobbler Hansen (who later betrays them). He has recently been given a flyer which warns him that "any contact with the enemy will be punished by death". The resistance men immidiately ask him:

* EnemyWithin: Discussed when meeting the unwitting cobbler Hansen (who later betrays them). He has recently been given a flyer which warns him that "any contact with the enemy will be punished by death". The resistance men immidiately asks:

* {{Determinator}}: Baalsrud had a lot of chances to just drift off and die. He lived to tell the tale.

** Later, in the mountain, when he has to be buried out of a snow drift, still unable to move: "You have even more lives, Jan!"

* EpicFail: When the resistance men get to shore, they are adviced to search for a shoemaker named Hansen. Unfortunately, that name is the most common name in Norway, and the man they encounter is not the man they seek. The right one is already arrested, and this shoemaker is a coward who betrays them. Tragedy ensues.

** Baalsrud also managed to fight at the end of the war, coming down in Norway with a parachute, having kept only two of his toes.
* MusicOfAwesome: The score, written by composer Gunnar Sønstevold.