Havens Kolonial

Havens Kolonial is a neighbourhood food shop and café space at Jacob Aalls gate 59 in Oslo. The present-day name did not exist when “Max Manus” was filmed, but the building was used as the location for the film’s version of Plasskafeen, the café connected to the fatal ambush of Gregers Gram and the capture of Edvard Tallaksen. The real wartime Plasskafeen was located elsewhere in Oslo, at Markveien 35 by Olaf Ryes plass, where Gram was killed in a shootout with German police on 13 November 1944.

In “Max Manus” (2008), Havens Kolonial is used for the Plasskafeen sequence. Gregers Gram and Edvard Tallaksen are seen coming from Hertzbergs gate before entering the café. In the film, the main entrance is hidden behind a stack of firewood, while the side door is used as the entrance. Inside, the two resistance fighters sit down, but the meeting turns into an ambush when the Germans enter. A shootout follows, and Gregers Gram is hit, crashes through the window and ends up lying in Hertzbergs gate.

The scene appears to have been filmed on location rather than using only the façade, which makes the building especially interesting as a “Max Manus” location. At the time of filming, the space was probably empty or at least not operating as Havens Kolonial, since the current shop came later. Another useful visual detail is the neighbouring shopfront, which is now part of Havens Kolonial, but in the film carries the name Fredrik Nielsens Colonial. This gives the sequence a deliberately older Oslo street atmosphere, while the real building and street layout still make the location recognisable today.

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