22 July

On 22 July 2011, 77 people were killed in Norway, but Paul Greengrass does not make the attack the centre of the film. It is over within the first half hour. The remaining two hours take place in a courtroom and a hospital room. The script comes from Åsne Seierstad's book One of Us. Anders Danielsen Lie plays Anders Behring Breivik and Jon Øigarden plays defence lawyer Geir Lippestad. Viljar Hanssen, the survivor at the centre, is a real person who testified at the actual trial, and that testimony is what the film builds toward. One choice remains contested: the cast and crew are Norwegian but the film is in English. Greengrass was direct about why, saying he does not speak Norwegian and so looked for Norwegian actors who could work in English. It premiered at Venice before going to Netflix. Who it is for: viewers interested in the aftermath of terrorism, the legal process and recovery. Who it is not for: anyone who cannot sit through the attack itself. That section is brief but completely unsoftened.