The 17 Best Norwegian Movies On Netflix

With a population of only 4.5 million, the Norwegian-speaking audience for any movie is rather limited.

With a restricted audience come limited returns for movies which, under normal circumstances, would result in a virtually non-existent film trade. But the Norwegians have found their own solution to maintain a thriving film sector.

Movies in Norway are largely financed by the state’s annual budget rather than through ticket sales. The Norwegian Film Institute (Norske Filminstitutt) receives around $12 million per year to develop new talent, along with further funds from the Nordic Council and regional sources.

In recent years, Netflix has discovered the ever-increasing talent in Norway and has backed some highly successful Norwegian movies and TV series for streaming on the platform. So here's a list of some of the best Norwegian movies on Netflix.

Norwegian Movies On Netflix: War Movies

1. Narvik (Kampen om Narvik)

Dir.: Erik Skjoldbjaerg (2022)

As Norwegian blockbusters go, Narvik is as good as it gets. More than 400,000 Norwegians rushed to the cinemas to watch this war drama set in the North of Norway during the German occupation in World War II. 

Narvik tells the story of the Norwegian resistance fighters against the German forces and the difficult decisions the female population had to face in order to survive.

Though often forced by violence into collaborating with the occupiers, the women would become outcasts in their own communities for decades to come.

The story follows a Northern Norwegian couple who through circumstances beyond their control have to submit to the violent occupiers, with a heavy price to pay.

Set in Northern Norway, the movie offers a formidable opportunity for Norwegian language learners to experience the melodious dialect of the region, though the main cast usually sticks to a more toned-down version of the regional accent.

2. War Sailor (Krigsseileren)

Dir.: Gunnar Vikene (2022)

War Sailor is another highly successful Norwegian war movie, this time set in the western coastal city of Bergen.

The movie follows the story of two of the 30,000 Norwegian sailors in the merchant navy, who found themselves cut off for years from their home country and loved ones when in 1940 Germany unexpectedly invaded Norway. 

Norwegian sailors Alfred and Sigbjørn struggle to stay alive at sea, where they have been requisitioned to run supplies for the allied forces in waters saturated by German submarines.

Back home in Bergen, Alfred’s wife Cecilia must cope not only with carving out a living for herself and the couple’s three children, but also the German invaders and the frequent British bombs taking a heavy toll on the population.

War Sailor is mostly shot in the western Norwegian dialect, which in written form presents itself as Nynorsk. The movie is therefore one of the best opportunities to get an impression of how this second biggest official Norwegian language sounds like in action.

Norwegian Movies On Netflix: Comedies & RomComs

3. Elling

Dir.: Petter Næss (2001)

Regarded by many Norwegians as one of the best, if not the best Norwegian comedy ever made, this rambunctious social commentary on everyday Norwegian life as seen by a pair of misfits has also made it onto Netflix.

After several years in an institution, socially awkward Elling and his far more outgoing roommate and best friend Bjarne are released by order of the Norwegian state to integrate into Norwegian society.

Placed in sheltered housing right in the centre of Oslo, the unlikely pair soon test the patience of their social worker to the limits while trying to navigate the traps posed by societal demands, love – and phone sex.

Apart from being probably the best showcase for Norwegian humour available internationally, Elling is also the go-to-place for anyone in the process of learning Norwegian and wanting to know how a Norwegian conversation really sounds like.

The dialogue is filled with Norwegian slang, idioms and expressions that are an integral part of everyday use in the country, but not necessarily taught in language courses.

If you like Elling, you have the opportunity to move on to the sequel Love Me Tomorrow (Elsk meg i morgen) and the prequel Mother’s Elling (Mors Elling), also available on Netflix.

4. Christmas as Usual (Så var det jul igjen)

Dir.: Petter Holmsen (2023)

What to begin with has the look and feel of a Hallmark Christmas movie, sugar coating and picture postcard shots included, soon turns into an excellent comedy-drama about cultural differences, unsuspecting xenophobia and the difficulties that wrongly placed best intentions can incite.

Though not particularly popular among Norwegians themselves, the movie should gather plenty of interest among those who suddenly find themselves with Norwegian in-laws or just anyone who wants to live in Norway and seeks some reference points.

Thirty-somethings Norwegian Thea and Indian Jashan meet in Los Angeles, fall in love and get engaged. As Christmas is just around the corner, Thea decides to introduce Jashan to her family back in Norway to announce their engagement.

What follows is an entertaining, at times very darkly humoured clash of cultures where the spicy Indian curry on the day before Christmas Eve and the habitual Norwegian flag garlands that decorate the Christmas trees all over the country become the couples’ least pressing problems.

Christmas as Usual is for the obvious reasons mainly shot in English but includes plenty of Norwegian language interludes suited for beginner learners.

The story is set in the picturesque Norwegian skiing resort in Rauland in the mountains of Telemark in Eastern Norway where mainly Østlandsk Bokmål is spoken.

5. United

Dir.: Magnus Martens (2003)

Not all Norwegian films are shot in Oslo or the romantic countryside of the fjords and mountains.

And this football comedy gives a rare view on the industrial towns created by the shipyards in the west of the country.

In 1991, tween Kåre is convinced that one day very soon he’ll be playing for Manchester United.

10 years down the line, we still find him in the same spot of the little town in the west, now working in the warehouse of the local shipyard and his dream somewhat reduced to marrying his long-suffering (and equally football crazy) sweetheart Anna at Old Trafford.

When Kåre’s slimy former football and love rival Stian returns to his hometown to claim not only the shipyard with all its workplaces, but also Anna as his own, Kåre is forced to end his plain existence of “almost always, never quite” to win both back.

Quite visibly made on a shoestring budget, United wins on its sheer unpretentiousness and warm Norwegian humour which suits the subject matter and the locations the movie was shot in.

The actors speak in a typical Vestlandsk dialect, which is almost, but not quite Nynorsk, and can be a challenge for beginners in Norwegian.

Easy to understand, however, should be the movie’s running commentary by Norway’s most eminent sports commentator Arne Scheie who with his sonorous, beautifully spoken Bokmål evaluates the chances of football versus love.

6. Mirakel (Miracle)

Dir.: Thomas Kaiser (2006)

Also hardened, matter-of-fact Norwegians are not averse to a proper tearjerker now and again, as Miracle is proof of. 35-year-old Karsten has lost his wife and now runs the coffee shop she once started.

In his spare time, he reads Astrid Lindgren (The Brother’s Lionheart) to his dead wife’s heavily disabled teenaged nephew, arranges ski races for his most loyal cafe guests and thinks about his wife.

One day, he meets a beautiful Swedish heiress and businesswoman, who could or could not be the love of his life. 

Reassuringly predictable and not a single villain in sight, Miracle is a showcase for the all-important Norwegian word koselig in all its facets and meanings.

The characters are koselig (kind), the dialogues are koselig (pleasant), the sets and the costume design are koselig (cosy). You get the point. The entire film is koselig (charming).

If ever you want to find a reason to move to Norway, Miracle should be your first point of call.

Besides, though you might not understand the entire dialogue, which is mainly Østlandsk (Bokmål) with some Swedish thrown into the mix, the film follows the Hollywood rulebook for romantic comedies to a T and you’ll pretty much know at all times the meaning of what is said.

Norwegian Movies On Netflix: Horror & Sci-Fi

7. Troll

 Dir.: Roar Uthaug (2022)

With virtually every trope established by monster movie franchises like Godzilla and King Kong and presented with a clunky, at times cringeworthy dialogue, Norway’s highly successful foray into the horror genre on Netflix still is entertaining audiences due to a hefty injection of regional Norwegian folklore and Nordic mythology.

Construction work in Norway’s Dovrefjell mountain range in Trøndelag wakes a giant troll, which soon causes havoc as it makes its way down to the capital Oslo.

Only Norwegian palaeontologist Nora, played by Ine Marie Wilmann, and her sidekicks, one of whom is obviously a military man, can save the city now as the Norwegian government plans to eradicate the stony-faced monster with the aid of an atomic bomb.

Though not being a favourite among critics, who pointed out the lack of originality, the film was popular enough among international audiences to warrant a sequel, Troll 2, financed by Netflix.

Set in Trøndelag, where one of Norway’s most eccentric dialects is spoken, the cast mainly sticks to an understandable Norwegian as it is spoken in Oslo.

8. Viking Wolf (Vikingulven)

Dir: Stig Svendsen (2022)

Not an original Netflix production, and not boosted by Nordic folklore like Troll, this Norwegian take on the Werewolf myth experienced a rather dismal cinema run in Norway before Netflix decided to add it to its repertoire and give it a more successful chance with an international audience.

While on a raid in Normandy in 1050, Norwegian Vikings get more than they bargained for when a wolf cub is added to the haul. While none of the Vikings make it home alive, the cub reaches Norwegian shores and disappears into the woods.

Centuries later, 17-year-old Thale is bitten by a mysterious creature on her way home from a party and soon experiences unpleasant side-effects, which result in a significant reduction of the local town population and force Thale’s mother, the local police constable, to make a difficult decision.

What might seem like your usual run-of-the-mill werewolf movie can still offer an interesting perspective for those eager to learn more about Norwegian culture and language.

While most Norwegian movies bank on the country’s impressive landscape and picturesque villages to add beauty, Viking Wolf is shot in the rather unassuming town of Notodden.

Visions of picturesque Nordic-style houses are replaced by stale institutional architecture and the interactions between the characters of different generations give a far more realistic view of real Norwegian life than you'd expect from a werewolf movie.

9. Blasted

Dir.: Martin Sofiedal (2022)

Norwegians’ down-to-earth and pragmatic outlook on life makes it very difficult for fantasy and science fiction movies to succeed at the box office.

So that Blasted such a surprise. It's billed as a Norwegian science fiction movie, but on a shoestring budget and with special effects that would probably make Hollywood cringe.

It does, however, introduce an international audience to the strange and wonderful Norwegian phenomenon of the hyttetur (cabin trip) where groups of same-sex friends rally around the one person in the group who is lucky enough to have access to a cabin in either the woods or by the sea.

Young but somewhat hapless entrepreneur Sebastian tries to convince a financier of the prospects of his business idea, but things go not too well.

As his stag party is on the horizon, he invites the unwilling investor along with his friends to a hyttetur, a trip to a cabin in the woods close to a remote Norwegian village.

Things get complicated, when Sebastian’s less presentable friend from his tag-gunning days gatecrashes the party and even more so, when aliens invade the village.

The rapid-fire dialogue of characters who are either acting terribly upset, overly enthusiastic or completely drunk might be a challenge for the unexperienced Norwegian learner.

Yet the movie is a fairly accurate and trustworthy introduction to the essentials of what makes a hyttetur so central to Norwegian culture.

Norwegian Movies On Netflix: Dramas

10. The Greatest in the World (Det Største I Verden)

Dir.: Thomas Robsahm (2001)

No list of Norwegian movies would be complete without a costume drama.

And this stunning film, loosely based on the 1871 novel “The Fisher Girl” by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, has received the approval from Netflix and can be streamed there.

Fisherman’s daughter Petra manages to get herself engaged to three different men in western Norway in the middle of the 19^th century.

An outraged mob drives her out of the fishing village she grew up in. Unable to find work due to her reputation, she makes her way to Kristiania (now Oslo).

On the way, she convinces a Danish priest to take her into his household where she becomes the confidant of the man's daughter. When her past catches up with her, Petra finds herself competing with her newfound best friend for the love of a man.

For those interested in Norwegian language history, The Greatest in the World will be interesting due to the era the movie is set in.

Writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was writing during the 19th century following the dissolution of the union with Denmark a staunch proponent of Norway developing its own language, separate from the dominant Danish.

The movie pitches the Norwegian of the general population against the Danish language as spoken in the educated rectory where Petra finds a safe harbour.

Those interested in the differences between the Nordic languages can get an impression how a Danish-Norwegian dialogue will sound like.

11. Høst: Autumn Fall (Høst)

Dir.: Jan Vardøen (2015)

Before the bleak but intriguing movies in the Nordic Noir wave entranced international audiences, Scandinavian films were mostly known for their large-scale costume epics.

These are slow paced, almost claustrophobic existentialist dramas first developed and popularised by Swedish director Ingmar Berman. Høst: Autumn Fall clearly belongs to the this category.

Set against the stunning backdrop of an autumnal Vigeland Park, Oslo’s most popular outdoor venue and museum, theatre stage manager Ingvild seeks to break out of her career to find a new purpose in life. 

By doing so, she crosses paths with two very different men who each in their way make an impact on her decision.

Though shot in Oslo, the film pitches Bokmål speaking lead actress Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen against a true giant from the Norwegian stage and the film industry, western Norwegian born Helge Jordal.

One of Jordal’s trademarks is his beautiful and distinct dialect from the west coast, which in written form would become Nynorsk.

If you're interested how Nynorsk is supposed to sound, Helge Jordal is your man. The movie gives some prime examples on how a Bokmål-Nynorsk conversation in Norway will play out.

12. 22 July

Dir: Paul Greengrass (2018)

Quite strictly speaking not a Norwegian production, but American, the excellent 22 July still makes the list due the entirely Norwegian cast and crew as well as the subject matter. 

In 2011, on July 22, a 32-year-old Norwegian took his van and parked it outside the headquarters of the Norwegian government.

When shortly after a bomb in the van went off and destroyed large parts of the inner city of Oslo, the heavily armed perpetrator was already on his way to the small Norwegian island Utøya where the youth chapter of the Norwegian Labour party held their annual summer camp.

What followed was one of the biggest peace time massacres not only in Norway, but also on European ground, leaving 77 mostly very young Norwegians dead and hundreds injured.

The events of the 2011 Oslo Attacks traumatizes Norway to this day and the movie follows the perpetrator, right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, as well as some of his victims almost minute by minute.

The film is shot in English language, spoken with a heavy accent by the largely young cast. Yet there is still enough Norwegian language and culture to be found to please an eager learner of Norwegian.

13. Royalteen

Dir.: Per-Olav Sørensen (2022)

As Norwegian royals go, teen drama Royalteen sails pretty close to the wind, considering much scandalized real-life events when the current Crown Prince Haakon met his future wife Crown Princess Mette Marit, a single mother from the Oslo party circuit with a convicted criminal as an ex-partner (and father of her child) to boot.

Teenage mom Lena is moved by her loving parents to the Norwegian capital to escape her past and begin a new life. At her new school, Lena soon falls in love with her desk neighbour who turns out to be the future king of Norway, prince Karl Johan.

While trying to hide the existence of her son from her royal lover, Lena soon becomes entangled in her own lies under the watchful eyes of Karl Johan’s obnoxious sister.

Royalteen is based on a very successful series of Norwegian teen romances and thereby had its popularity almost guaranteed back home.

It did, however, strike a chord with international audiences as well and the sequel Royalteen: Princess Margrethe was released the year after.

The movie’s dialogue contains some teenage slang but should still be easily understood by intermediate learners.

14. Battle

Dir. Katharina Launing (2018)

Norwegians have a great love for anything musical and travel agencies in the country regularly sell all-inclusive trips to London's West End whenever a new Andrew Lloyd Webber, Abba & Co event is launched.

While Battle is not directly a musical, music plays a huge part of it courtesy of a toe-tapping soundtrack.

Teenager Amalie grows up in a single parent but very well-to-do household, presumably in Oslo’s fashionable Holmenkollen district.

Together with her equally rich friends, she competes in the exclusive local dance school for a place in a prestigious dance academy in Amsterdam.

Her life of fashion, pool parties and thoughtless money wasting ends abruptly when her father goes bankrupt and she finds herself in a one-bedroom flat in an Oslo council estate.

While leading a double life and trying to hide her desolate circumstances from her old friends, she finds a surprising place in her new surroundings that teaches her a few important lessons about life as well as dancing.

Battle is a Netflix original and became a hit among especially Nordic teenagers. In 2022, the sequel Battle: Freestyle was released which follows Amalie as she tries to carve out a life as a dancer.

Despite being set in the youth culture of the Norwegian capital, the film largely avoids slang and should be easily understood for intermediate Norwegian speakers, especially with subtitles.

15. Izzat

Dir.: Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen (2005)

Billed by Netflix as a Nordic Noir, Izzat – meaning the concept of family honour in parts of Asia – is set among the Pakistani community in Oslo.

Though by no means wanting for the bleakness the Nordic Noir genre is known for, Izzat lacks the intricate plots and convoluted storylines of the genre but makes up for it through graphic violence and ethnic controversies.

Izzat follows three Norwegian-Pakistani childhood friends in their journey through the ranks of the organized crime circuit in Oslo over several decades.

Beginning in the 1980s, the local Norwegian gangs are about to be superseded by far more brutal, and better-connected drug lords within the immigrant community.

When teenager Wasim shows more interest in a future criminal career than schoolwork, his father sends him back to Pakistan to continue his schooling there.

Two years later, he returns unrepentant, but with a bounty of new Pakistani ‘business’ connections of the rather doubtful kind, enabling him to climb the career ladder in the local gang.

When his path crosses that of his old friends, he's forced to make a decision over life and death.

For learners of the Norwegian language, Izzat should be an interesting view due to its heavy use of kebabnorsk, a Norwegian slang that includes a variety of vocabulary from wildly different immigrant groups.

The film also shows the less picturesque side of Norway and Norwegian reality as seen in the dreary satellite town on the Oslo outskirts. 

Norwegian Movies On Netflix: Immigration In Norway

16. Det norske hus (House of Norway)

Dir.: Jan Vardøen (2017)

Even with the billing as a satire, House of Norway still comes out as the most bizarre Norwegian film on Netflix as well as this list.

It's also most relevant movie for anyone who wants to learn Norwegian, live in Norway or receive settlement status/citizenship in the country.

Iranian refugee Ramin wants to stay in Norway. To do so, he first needs to get access to the House of Norway, which proves to be no easy feat.

Once inside the majestic manor house, he is set a series of seemingly petty tasks to prove his worthiness.

Each of the assigned challenges represents something intrinsically Norwegian he must ‘pass’ in front of an overbearing group of Norwegian tutors in order to stay in the country.

From preparing a Norwegian open-faced sandwich to wearing a lusekofte (the traditional Norwegian jumpers) the right way and from eating the national dish of lutefisk to going on a long-distance skiing trip without having any prior experience with snow, Ramin braves it all.

But then he finds out that the journey ends in a seemingly never-ending series of huts, in which neither the right person nor the correct paperwork can be found to give him the all-important settlement papers.

Though lacking subtlety to qualify as a satire and hilarity as demanded by comedies, House of Norway still found a devoted audience among, you guessed it, the Norwegian immigrant community.

The film is shot in Norwegian, English and Farsi and should be an easy watch even or especially for beginners, as the Norwegian characters speak in an overly pronounced way to make themselves understood by the non-Norwegians in their charge.

17. Mrs Chatterjee vs. Norway

Dir.: Ashima Chibber (2023)

Bollywood and Norway might seem like a match made in heaven.

But before you imagine fluttering saris in stunning fjords, hip swinging crowds dancing through Norwegian coastal villages and love songs shouted from snow-clad mountain tops, I must inform you: this is not that kind of Bollywood-film.

Instead, it's a tense legal drama based on real events that to this day polarise Norway.

In 2011, after signing her son up for kindergarten in the city of Stavanger, Indian mother Debika receives a visit from officers in the Norwegian government’s child protection unit.

The visit results in her two children, a 4-year-old son and a newborn daughter, being taken away and given into foster care.

What follows is a legal struggle between the parents against the Norwegian state stretching over years ending in 2013 in an Indian court after their marriage breaks down and Norway sends the children back to India into the care of the father’s uncle.

The subject matter of the movie, which is told entirely subjectively from the mother’s point of view, is mainly Norway’s disregard and lack of understanding of cultural differences in parenting and lifestyles.

The real-life event took a serious toll on Indian-Norwegian relations and sparked a diplomatic row, that still is ongoing to this day.

The film is shot in Hindi with Estonian actors playing the Norwegian parts but makes this list on Norwegian movies due to its depiction of the darker side of the social state Norway is world-famous for.

FAQs About Norwegian Movies On Netflix

Norwegian Movies On Netflix: Something For Everyone

Despite being a relatively small film nation in a global context, Norway still has something to offer in almost all genres.

From dramas to football romances and historical costume epics to alien invasions of the Norwegian countryside, you will find it all on the list.

The Norwegian film trade is also as varied as the Norwegian dialects spoken in the country. And if you're interested in experiencing the Norwegian language, watching Norwegian movies on Netflix can help you get used to Norwegian pronunciation.

If you want to learn the Norwegian language, however, I suggest you take a look at my Norwegian language course Norwegian Uncovered. If you want to know how Norwegian looks and sounds like, you can always get Short Stories in Norwegian in a written and an audio format.