I kongens klær: A weirdly charming look at the barracks

Is it worth your time?

Look, if you’re looking for a serious war drama, keep walking. This is essentially a filmed stage revue. You’ll probably love it if you have a soft spot for 1950s Norwegian humor and people singing in uniform. If you hate variety shows or movies where the plot is basically just “things happening in a room,” you’ll be bored out of your mind within ten minutes. 🎖️

It’s all very theatrical. The transitions between the barracks life and the musical numbers feel like someone just opened a curtain and said, “Alright, dance now.”

Einar Rose is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. There’s a specific look he gives the camera during the gym exercises that feels like he’s trying to communicate his confusion to the audience. It’s genuinely funny in a way I don't think was entirely planned.

The weapons training scenes are almost cute. They handle the gear like they’re holding props from a school play, which, honestly, they probably were. It lacks the grit of something like Yankee Pluck, but it has this weird, breezy energy that is hard to shake.

Oddly specific observations:

• The gym scene goes on for an eternity. I think they wanted to show off the athleticism, but it mostly just shows off how much everyone is sweating under those studio lights.
• The barracks sleeping arrangements look like a nightmare, but everyone in the movie is smiling like they’re at a spa.
• Hilda Fredriksen has a scene near the end that feels like it was filmed on a completely different day, in a different building, with a different lighting rig.

It’s nowhere near the complexity of Tokyo Chorus, but it doesn't try to be. It just wants to show you a bunch of guys running around a base and singing about it. The songs are catchy enough to get stuck in your head, which is a curse, really.

You can tell the director was trying to capture that “boys away from home” feeling. Sometimes they get there, but most of the time it just feels like they’re waiting for the lunch bell to ring. 🥪

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely a movie, really. It’s a time capsule of people trying to make a dull situation look like a constant party. Worth a watch if you’re curious about the era, but maybe keep your phone handy for the musical breaks.