“Mortal: Courage is Immortal” revolves around a young man who suddenly develops “X-Men”-like powers. However, the story, directed by Norwegian genre film specialist André Øvredal (“The Autopsy Of Jane Doe”, “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark”), goes in much darker directions than a typical Hollywood blockbuster.
“Mortal – Courage is immortal” will be shown on ZDF on June 26, 2023 at 22:15. The channel broadcasts a repeat at 12:15 in the night of 27 to 28 June. In the ZDF media library you can stream the FSK 12 title after the end of the first broadcast. Alternatively, it is available from online retailers such as Amazon as Blu-ray, DVD, and paid video-on-demand:
With Nat Wolff, who is best known for The Wicked Ones and The Mark of Margo, and Iben Akerlie from season 2 of the crime series Mammon.
“Mortal” on ZDF: that’s the story
Young American Eric Bergland (Nat Wolff) discovers that he has supernatural powers. However, he can’t really control her. To come to terms with this situation and find himself, he travels to his ancestral homeland – Western Norway – and retreats into the wilderness.
One day he meets a group of teenagers who start harassing him. In the ensuing altercation, he accidentally kills one of the boys by touching him. As a result, Eric is arrested by the local police. Christine Aas (Iben Akerlie) is ordered by the authorities to find out what really happened.
During their conversations, the young psychologist develops sympathy for Eric. She believes his story and helps him escape when the US embassy demands Eric’s extradition. On the run from the Norwegian police, US government officials and the dead boy’s vengeful father (Per Egil Aske), Eric finally discovers who or what he really is…
Not your typical superhero movie
Øvredal had previously turned the myths and legends of his homeland into a successful feature film in Troll Hunter, his powerful blend of fantasy thriller and found footage comedy. In “Mortal – courage is immortal” it is much darker now. It starts with the implementation, which uses visual and mood-related elements of Scandinavian noir crime series like “Kommissarin Lund” or “Die Brücke”, and ends with a finale that is not exactly typical of Hollywood.
In this way, “Mortal” cleverly distinguishes itself from Marvel & Co.’s blockbusters, which wallow in CGI bombshell, often riddled with irony, yet trimmed for family appropriateness. If you want to use an American movie for comparison, it’s “Brightburn: Son Of Darkness”, which was made around the same time. Except that “Mortal” is not a horror film, but a thoroughly serious, mature mix of fantasy spectacle, thriller film and character drama.
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