On the 22nd of July 2011 a far right terrorist called Anders Behring Breivik carried out two terror attacks in Norway. The first was a homemade bomb he set off at a government building in Oslo which resulted in 8 workers were murdered. He then went to the island of Utøya were he gunned down hundreds of people, the vast majority of them teenagers enjoying a summer camp ran by the Workers Youth League. 69 more people died.
This true life take on one of Norway's darkest days is seen from the point of view of 4 men. Prime Minister Stoltenberg (Ola G. Furuseth) as he struggles to lead a country in turmoil, Viljar Hanssen (Jonas Strand Gravli) a young man who was shot on the island during the massacre, Geir Lippestad (Jon Øigarden) as a solicitor tasked with a thankless role and finally Breivik (Anders Danielsen Lie) himself.
This was tough stuff as you can imagine. The film opens on Breivik as he prepares his attacks and these scenes are intercut with teenagers arriving for a fun island summer. Happiness, laughter, joyous reunions with friends from the summer before. Hugs juxtaposed with bomb preparation. Smiles cutaway away to automatic rifles being checked. The film puts you on edge instantly and leaves you with a desperate feeling of impending doom. These idealistic kids, their future in front of them, soon to be ripped away by a man angry with the world. The aftermath is almost as horrible. Endless hospital scenes, eerily calm interrogation rooms and the sounds of a country in anguish. All seen through the lense of Paul Greengrass, a director with plenty of prior history of depicting true life terror.
The attack itself is horrific. Breivik clinically and calmly dispatching the children before him without breaking a sweat. Thankfully Greengrass isn't a leering or exploitative director and like he did with the Bogside massacre of Bloody Sunday and the plane hijacking in United 93 he shows us the brutality of the attacks without any gratuitousness. We're never let forget these victims were real people. It's very upsetting to watch these kids fleeing for their lives without any way to defend themselves. Some people might question the depiction of the massacre. Was it necessary? It's definitely troubling. Some people watching won't be able to get past it. I'm glad Greengrass shows it at the start of the film though. He doesn't use it to build suspense because that would have been in very bad taste.
The remaining 2 hours of the film delve into the aftermath of the attacks. Breivik claims he's the first of many unhappy with the multicultural turn Norway has taken. An unsettling line of dialogue from his Mother shows he definitely isn't the only person to think this way. Anders Danielsen Lie plays him with a horrible chilling stillness. He's the hero in his own story but the monster in everyone elses. He's flat out terrifying. Calmly eating pizza in a police station and asking for a plaster for a cut on his finger as 100's lie wounded in overcrowded hospital around Oslo. Chief among them Viljar. The well liked nice guy who was mown down on a beach at the edge of the island. His slow and painful recovery becomes a metaphor for Norway itself. Agony, healing and ultimately recovery. For all it's darkness the film is a hopeful one. Optimistic that hate will always be overcome. "My children and their children, they will beat you."
At nearly two and a half hours long it's marathon going and yes, not all of it works. The Prime minister thread is particularly sluggish but it's an important film. The kind of political ideals shown by Breivik never end well. These beliefs need to be nipped in the bud and it might take a film like this to get people really talking, younger people especially who live for Netflix were this is available to watch now. It's a harsh movie, one that's hard to recommend but one that should be watched.
