The documentary “Rinnan’s rival” explores the life of Karl Adding, a key double agent for the Gestapo during World War II. The film premieres in Norwegian cinemas on November 22 and sheds light on a complex story of betrayal, duplicity and its effects on descendants today.
We follow Fredrik Lie from Stockholm, who didn’t know that his grandfather Karl was a double agent during the war, and became the biggest rival to the more famous informer Henry Oliver Rinnan. In the film, we witness Fredrik Lie’s harrowing journey into his grandfather’s dark history, a journey that also takes Fredrik to difficult events in his own past.
The unknown story of Karl Adding
Marte Hallem is the director of the film “Rinnan’s rival” and is also publishing a book with the same title as the film.
– I would say that the movie and the book complement each other. In the film, we get even closer to Fredrik’s present-day journey, while in the book we have the opportunity to delve even deeper into the source material surrounding Karl Adding’s life, and even closer to the many complex aspects of this story. In many ways, it’s quite a difficult story to embark on, with many possible truths, and my goal is to show the viewer just that.
“War is a ruthless game that radicalizes all parties, and drags ordinary young people into an existence they probably couldn’t have dreamed of in their worst nightmares a few years earlier,” says Hallem. She believes it is also important to show what methods the Gestapo used, and how they worked purposefully over many years with their misanthropic racial laws and their hierarchical view of humanity.
– They deliberately entered environments they had an interest in controlling and divided groups of friends through the use of threats, bribes and torture. “It’s crazy to get close to this game and see how they operated. The human perspective is virtually absent,” says Hallem.
Wartime traumas and their lasting impact
“Rinnan’s rival” also explores the wider impact of war and conflict on individuals and families across generations. Karl Adding’s father, Salomon Isaevitch, fled to Norway to escape Russian pogroms. After arriving in Norway, he faced racism and anti-Semitism as a Jewish merchant in Norway, and went bankrupt after conflicts with the Norwegian merchant class in Western Norway. As a result, the family is left with nothing and experiences a huge drop in prosperity.
When Karl is a young boy, his mother has been left alone with three children and has to go to the poorhouse. This hard life in turn influences how the life of her son Karl develops during the interwar years. The film explores the themes of trauma, guilt and secrecy that can persist for generations after a conflict.
“Rinnan’s rival” opens in cinemas across Norway on November 22. The film is directed by Marte Hallem and produced by TMM Produksjon. Distributor Storytelling Media AS.
