KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND

Winner of Norway's top awards for Best Picture, Music, and Supporting Actor, this fact-based film-festival favorite uses wintry settings and vivid performances to give a crisp Nordic twist to the rage-against-the-institution template represented by such rebel yells as COOL HAND LUKE and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. The institution is Bastoy Island, an isolated correctional institution for delinquent boys, and the rebel is Erling (Helstad in a smolderingly intense performance), a recent arrival too mature and worldly to knuckle under. A hypocritical governor (Skarsgard) and his abusive assistant are all that are needed to set off a harrowing battle royale, stunningly set against a backdrop of ice and snow. HDCAM video. (MR)