Strike !

The film story is based on an actual strike that took place in Norway in the 1970’s. The board of a company subsidized and controlled by « Union Carbide » (an international capitalistic trust) ignored the workers demands for better wages and working conditions.
In 1970, when the obligatory negociations had been finished for a period of two years in 1969, open conflict between the workers and the employers main organizations became a reality. These organizations had agreed not to go into conflict in the middle of such a « two year period ». The strike was therefore mentioned as a « wild strike » and the workers didn’t receive any help from their union leaders.
A heavy pressure wasp ut on the workers to get them back to work : rumours were set out that the workers had been misled by a group of mrxist-leninists, that they were responsible for economic losses caused by the strike, that they made things worse for their comrades in other sections of the factory.
The shooting was delayed one year due to political pressure from right-wing organizations. When it finally came into production, the cast included both professional actors and persons that were actually involved in the 1970’s strike.
Even before its first screening, « Strike » was the most controversial picture of the 1970’s in Norway.
Oddvar BULL TUHUS