Not just for Norwegians, this pulse-quickening epic of World War II espionage nevertheless roots for the home team, proudly saluting the heroism of Norway's most audacious anti-Nazi fighter. As played by swollen-eyed Aksel Hennie (picture Steve Buscemi with more meat on the bone), Max Manus is an ordinary Oslo guy who takes the German occupation as a personal call to action: He learns to fight in the Finnish infantry, jump through windows, bomb German supply tankers with his ill-fated buddies, and fire a machine gun from a speeding motorbike. The film is the priciest ever made in Norway, its production values triggering a brisk, Hollywood-style blockbuster vibe. Gunnar Sonsteby, a real-life member of the Norwegian resistance, will appear in person at both screenings on next Thursday's opening night of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. (In Norwegian, German, Russian, Finnish and English, subtitled.)