Nils Tønnessen Falkeng

Nils Tønnessen Falkeng, a name you might not recognize right away, but if you’re into historical films—especially the ones that dig into the messiest bits of Norway’s past—he’s definitely one to watch. In 2024, he stepped into the spotlight with two projects: “Quisling: The Final Days” and “Quisling.” Both are drenched in the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to open a history book, then immediately close it because, wow, people were wild back then. So, what’s the deal with these movies? They’re all about Vidkun Quisling, Norway’s most infamous traitor. Imagine a guy so notorious that his name literally became shorthand for “traitor” in like a dozen languages. Falkeng’s performances? They’re raw, unvarnished—zero sugarcoating. He doesn’t play Quisling like some cartoon villain twirling his mustache; it’s more complicated than that. You see the insecurity, the ego, the weird conviction that he’s totally in the right, even when everyone else is looking at him like, “Dude, what are you doing?” The films don’t just stick to the dry facts, either. They get under the skin, showing the claustrophobia of those last days before everything imploded. It’s not just Quisling sweating it out, it’s everyone around him—his supporters, his enemies, the people who just want to survive the chaos. Falkeng manages to make the audience squirm a little, forcing you to wrestle with those uncomfortable questions: Would you have done anything differently? Would you have followed, resisted, or just tried to keep your head down? There’s no easy redemption arc here, no Hollywood-style gloss. Just a deep, sometimes unsettling dive into the psyche of a man who made all the wrong choices, and the people caught in his wake.